Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Manuscripts

Science, Philosophy, Literature and Religion

Exhibition on view

6 - 23 October 2009

SAM FOGG
15D Clifford Street, London W1S 4JZ T: +44 (0)20 7534 2100 F: +44 (0)20 7534 2122 www.samfogg.com info@samfogg.com

Introduction
We have been assembling Islamic manuscripts wherever we could find them for nearly 20 years. The result in recent years has been published catalogues of Qurans and of books illustrated with paintings. This has however left out a large group fitting into neither category but which is nevertheless of considerable importance for both Islamic art and culture. They are arranged chronologically and include many lavishly illuminated books made for the rulers and elites of the Timurid, Safavid, Ottoman and Moghul courts. There is a decorated almanac made for Suleyman the Magnificient (cat. no. 31) as well as books made for later Ottoman rulers, the Marinid Sultans, Sultan Ibrahim of Bijapur and the Moghul Emperors (cat. nos. 9, 24, 45, 46). A precious discovery is a small book of poetry fully decorated by Suleymans master painter Kara Memi (cat. no. 34). There are works of science, philosophy and literature, some in very early copies from Islamic Spain, Ayyubid Alexandria, Fez and elsewhere. These include important books by al-Razi, al-Ghazali and Ibn Ridwan (cat. nos. 8, 10, 11). A copy of Ibn al-Wardis Cosmography with a double-page map of the world is probably the oldest copy in existence (cat. no. 16). Among manuscripts on religious subjects there is a pilgrimage guide of the fourteenth century with 46 pictures (cat. no. 13) and a copy of al-Busiris Qasidah al-Burda written and fully decorated in Mecca in 1531 (cat. no. 26). Another remarkable item is a Fatimid tarsh of circa eleventh century one of the only tiny number of examples of early Islamic printing to survive (cat. no. 50). At the end of the catalogue is a description of the Library of Persian and Arabic manuscripts assembled in the late eighteenth century by Sir Charles Boughton Rouse, an English scholar and administrator resident in late Moghul India. It contains 72 complete manuscripts and quantities of documents and papers (cat. no. 51)

(12685) 1

Circa 12th century

Spain

Al-Bayan wal-Tahsil (Explanation and Study) by Ibn Rushd al-Jadd, Part 22

Arabic manuscript on paper, ca. 500 folios, 29 lines of brown maghribi script to the page, modern red leather binding with original tooled decoration 30 x 23.3 cm

This large and spaciously written Spanish manuscript is the al-Bayan wal-Tahsil, the famous work on Maliki fiqh (jurisprudence) by Ibn Rushd al-Jadd (d. 520/1136), and the grandfather of Averroes. A note on the final page states that the present copy was copied from the original copy of Ibn Rushd al-Jadd, making this copy a manuscript of great importance for the text, completed not long after the authors death, and perhaps even during the lifetime of Averroes. The high quality burnished cream paper is typical of the best paper produced in Spain in the twelfth century. The uncharacteristically neat and widely spaced brown maghribi script, and the large size of the manuscript, are also typical of other luxury scientific manuscripts produced in this area and period and indicate that this copy was prepared for a wealthy and learned individual of high standing in society. The neatly displayed marginal comments, which exist throughout the manuscript, also suggest that this manuscript was produced with the greatest care and attention to detail of the original work. Ibn Rushd al-Jadd was a highly-regarded legal scholar of the Maliki school, and author of several works on fiqh, including the present al-Bayan wal-Tahsil, considered to be the most famous commentary based on the Mustakhraja min al-Asmia, also known as the Utbiyya, of Muhammad al-Utbi al-Qurtubi, a famous faqih (jurist) from Cordoba (d. 254/868). The Mustakhraja is an important collection of

responses to juridical questions compiled by al-Utbi through sessions of sama (listening) by important transmitters of Maliki doctrine. Along with other famous jurists, al-Utbi was a mushawar (consultant faqih) under Muhammad I, the amir of Cordoba from 852 to 886 AD. Ibn Rushd al-Jadd was the grandfather of the more famous Ibn Rushd, known in the West as Averroes (d. 595/1198). They came from a wealthy and well-known Cordoban family, from a line of jurists, and both Ibn Rushd al-Jadd and Averroes father enjoyed patronage by the Almoravid court, whose ideology the family was closely linked with. Ibn Rushd al-Jadd was the qadi (chief judge) and imam of the Great Mosque of Cordoba during his lifetime, and a highly regarded and respected member of Cordoban society. Before his death in 1126 AD, which was also the year of the birth of his renowned grandson, Ibn Rushd al-Jadd had issued a number of famous fatawi (legal opinions) during a controversial time of political upheaval and a long tradition of austere socio-political rule through Maliki thought that marked the end of the Almoravid dynasty in Spain with the advancing armies of the Almohads from Berber North Africa. There is an inscription in a later maghribi hand on the first page, dated 1079/ 1668.

(10073) 2

Section from a manual on the science of household administration (tadbir al-manzil) Signed Abd al-Majid Perhaps North Africa 12th century Including 13 mathematical diagrams

Arabic manuscript on cream paper, 25 folios with approx. 25 lines of naskh script in black-brown ink per page, lacking first few leaves, notes and numerals in margins, in later red morocco binding with stamped and tooled decoration, good condition 23.8 x 17 cm

This early and unusual manuscript contains a section on tadbir al-manzil, the science of domestic economy. The script and paper suggest a date of the eleventh or twelfth century. It pertains mainly to the acquisition, conservation, division and disposal of property. The work begins with a talismanic invocation for protection, describing various pharmaceutical concoctions that have protective powers, followed by repetitious invocations. Following is a section on the division and taxation (kharaj) of land, and how it may be calculated in relation to surface area (sith) of a piece of land. This is demonstrated through a series of diagrams using geometric illustrations and letters from the alphabet to mark points for distance. A section on payment for purchasing items which are sold by weight (ratl) follows, and includes an explanation on how these should be calculated. The allotment of property, including work to be completed on land, payment and taxation, as well as the sharing of water and how this is best calculated

for rivers and wells, and the division of natural resources, also features as an important section in this manual. Finally, the division and sharing of money and other wealth between various numbers of people, particularly members of a family, features in the penultimate section; this also includes the division of property and payment for a widow upon her husbands death. The final page includes a short explanation of the calculation of dividends and revenues for various items of property. The science of household economy (ilm al-tadbir) featured as an important subject in medieval Islamic domestic life. Along with ilm al-akhlaq (ethics) and ilm al-siyasa (politics), it is considered to be one of the three subsections in practical philosophy (see Y. Essid, A Critique of the origins of Islamic economic thought, Brill, Leiden, 2005, p. 182), and has its origin in Greek philosophical thought, where the organisation and administration of society and community was an important subject. Once adapted into Islamic traditional thought, various works were completed by a number of medieval Islamic scholars on the subject, including one by the famous scientist and philosopher Ibn Sina (Avicenna, d. 1037 AD), entitled Kitab al-Tadbir (Book of Economy).

(13596) 3

Ayyubid Poetry Diwan of Abul-Mahasin Ibn Unayn Syria, probably Damascus 12th century

Arabic manuscript on thick paper, 44 folios, 13 lines of naskh script per page with titles in elegant thulth, staining and wearing, incomplete at beginning and end 26.4 x 17.5 cm

This is an early fragment of the Diwan of Abul-Mahasin Ibn Unayn, a well-known satirical poet of the Ayyubid period, and a panegyrist of Salah al-Din (r. 1174-1193). The subtle flowing naskh script interlined with an elegant thulth is an exemplary precursor to the larger and bolder scripts that developed from the thirteenth century onward, during the Mamluk period. Ibn Unayn was best known through his satirical poetry, employing jokes, irony and mockery in order to ridicule the elite of society, including judges, preachers, and even rulers. As a result he was often accused of being an atheist, even though he frequently aimed his works against himself as well as his family members. Ibn Unayn composed riddles and topical poems, in which he often included historical and personal facts, particularly emphasizing his love for Damascus. Although not favourable toward collecting his works in diwan, Ibn Unayn eventually produced the Diwan, of which the present manuscript appears to be an early copy. Abul-Mahasin Ibn Unayn, whose name is Muhammad Ibn Nasrallah Ibn Makarim Sharaf al-Din alHurani al-Damishqi al-Ansari, was born in Damascus on 9 Shaban 549/19 October 1154. His lively and scathing satirical works were aimed at all members of society, including Salah al-Din, swiftly causing his banishment from Damascus. He eventually found favour with Saladins brother, Tughtakin, in Yemen, before he moved to Egypt, some time before the year 593/1197. Ibn Unayn was permitted to return to Damascus in 597/1201, after pleading with Saladins successor, al-Malik al-Adil. He was favourably received by al-Adils son, al-Malik al-Muazzam, the governor of Damascus, who employed Ibn Unayn as a wazir (court official). He died in Damascus on 4 January, 1233. (See Ibn Unayn, Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd Edition)

(11391) 4

Khabar Mawlana al-Qaim

Perhaps Alamut or Syria Late 12th century

Arabic manuscript, on paper with 10 folios, each with 10 lines of neat naskh script in brown ink on buff paper. The verses are divided by small gold rosette. There are three headings written in gold thulth script within rectangular panels decorated with scrolling foliate motifs and cloud bands in brown ink. The opening page has a gold panel containing the title written in white thulth script, below which is a panel containing a dated inscription and further documentary information. The corners of the panel are decorated with split palmettes in brown and black ink. 17.5 x 13 cm

This manuscript contains a selection of prayers and hadith (traditions of the Prophet). It is one of a small group of three similar manuscripts, all of them containing Shii prayers and pious tracts. One of the other two is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the second is in a private collection (Sothebys, London, 3 May 2001, lot 27). The inscription on the opening page of the present manuscript records that it was read to a nobleman in the city of Ghazna in the month of Shaban in the year 602/March 1206. However, this note is in Persian, and in a different hand and a different ink from the main text, which is in Arabic. It does not necessarily locate the place of production as Ghazna, and since Ghazna and indeed all eastern Iran and Afghanistan was strongly Sunni under the muscular orthodoxy of the Ghurid dynasty and their Seljuk overlords, it is perhaps unlikely that a manuscript of strongly Shii prayers would be produced there. A clue to the origins of the manuscript is given in the illuminated headings at the beginning of the Metropolitan Museum volume mentioned above, which consist of the title and basmallah written in very fine Eastern Kufic script on a ground of gold scrolling floral motifs. Both the Eastern Kufic script and the scrolling decoration are distinctive, but very close in style to similar heading panels in the well-known illustrated copy of the Kitab al-Diryaq (Book of Antidotes) of Pseudo-Galen, produced in Mosul in the year 1199 AD, and now in the Bibliothque nationale in Paris (Ms. Arabe 2964; see R. Ettinghausen, Arab Painting, Milan 1962, pp. 84-85; M-G. Guesdon & A. Vernay-Nouri, LArt du Livre Arabe, Paris 2001, pp.112-13; 116-17; 130). The two Shii centres closest to Mosul around the year 1200 AD were the Ismailis at Alamut in north-western Iran and the Nizari Ismailis in the mountains of Syria. This was an interesting period in Ismaili history. In 1164 AD the imam (religious leader) of Alamut, Hassan II Ala Dhikrihil-Salam, introduced the doctrine of qiyama (resurrection on the Day of Judgement), and after this proclamation he hinted that he was the Qaim al-Qiyama. His son and successor Muhammad II (r. 1166-1210 AD) placed the doctrine of qiyama at the centre of his imamate and represented himself as the figure of the Imam al-Qaim. The titleKhabar Mawlana alQaim does not appear in the listings of known Ismaili texts, but the date of the manuscript (about 1200) fits very well into the chronology of the doctrine of qiyama and the figure of the Qaim alQiyama at Alamut. It should be noted that the doctrine of qiyama was also declared by the Nizari Ismailis in Syria. It is possible that this prayer book was the product of one of these Ismaili centres, echoing the artistic style of northern Iraq, but adapted to a much more petite and portable format; the portability of these prayer books would have suited the lifestyle of the Ismailis, being, as many were, peripatetic and often secretive in their proselytizing activity. Perhaps there was a scriptorium in either Alamut or Syria producing Shii texts especially for itinerant Ismaili emissaries and agents, to be carried with them on their travels and missions. A possible explanation for the manuscripts location in Ghazna in 1206 AD is to be found in the context of Ismaili activity in Afghanistan and the Punjab at this period. During the late twelfth and early thirteenth century the Ghurid armies under Ghiyath al-Din Muahmmad (r. 1163-1203 AD) had sacked the two Ismaili strongholds at Multan and Quhistan, and in the early thirteenth century there was Ismaili propagandizing and missionary activity in the mountainous regions between Ghazna and Lahore and down to the plains of north-west India around Multan. It is probable that this activity was organized by Ismaili emissaries of the Imam of Alamut. (W. Madelung, Ismailiyya, sub-section

Nizariyya, EI 2) Furthermore, the Sunni Ghurid Sultan Muizz al-Din was assassinated near the Indus on his way back from the Punjab in the year 1205 AD, allegedly by an Ismaili assassin just a few months before the opening inscription in this manuscript was written. (C.E. Bosworth, Ghurids, sub-section Ghurids as an imperial power, EI2)

(6389) 5

Majmu fi ashar wa-qasaid wa-ghazaliyyat wa-hikayat

Written by the scribe Musa al-Shabrakhiti al-Maliki Syria or Iraq Dated 1 Safar AH 651/ 6 May 1253 AD

Anthology of Poetry

Arabic manuscript on paper, 29 folios each with 21 lines of black naskh script, red dots between verses and paragraphs, catchwords (not corresponding between f. 9 and f. 10), waqf inscription on f. 2r; brown morocco binding, worn and repaired 20.6 x 15.5 cm

This early dated anthology of poetry contains a selection of various types of Arabic poetry. The contents of the volume are noted in the title, and include ashar (versified poems), qasaid (rhyming odes), ghazaliyat (love elegies), hikayat (poems about heroes or legends), and hamziyya (poem using the hamza in its rhyme scheme). The titles of several lamiyyat (poems rhyming in l) are noted on the title page in a different hand. The present copy includes al-Tughrais (d. 1121 AD) Lamiyyat al-Ajam and other texts. The penultimate line of the colophon gives the scribes name as Musa al-Shabrakhiti al-Maliki, whose name suggests a Syrian or Iraqi origin for the manuscript, and the date of copying as 1 Safar AH 651/ 6 May 1253 AD. Provenance The paper is characteristic of that produced in Spain during this period. F. 1r: ownership inscription, giving the name Qadi Abdul-Rauf Ahmad [?] and the date AH 1172 or 1758-9 AD; f. 2r: waqf inscription, stating that the manuscript was endowed by Emir Mustafa Aga al-Razaz; his seal impression appears on ff. 1v and 19v, dated AH 1192 or 1778 AD.

(3807) 6

Malik Ibn Anas al-Muwatta, The Approved Copied by Abd Allah Ibn Muhammad Ibn Kabun al-Tamimi Alexandria Dated Shaban AH 629/ May-June 1232 AD
Arabic manuscript on paper, 194 folios, 25 lines of sepia naskh script, copious marginal notes, later red morocco binding with flap 23.3 x 17.5 cm

This is an early complete dated copy from Ayyubid Alexandria of one of the seminal books of Islamic jurisprudence, or fiqh. The Muwatta is the magnum opus of Malik Ibn Anas (d. 795 AD), and one of the greatest Islamic corpus juris. Malik Ibn Anas was, next to the founders of the three other schools of lawHanafi, Shafii and Hanbali- one of the most important Muslim jurists and the eponymous founder of the Maliki madhhab, or school of Islamic law. Malik Ibn Anas spent his life dedicated to learning and preserving the traditions of the Prophet. He was in addition frequently referred to as the imam of Medina, where he spent the greater part of his life, and was for a period of years the teacher of fiqh to the founder of the Shafii maddhab, Abu Abdallah Muhammad Ibn Idris al-Shafii (d. AH 204/ 820 AD).

Al-Muwatta, meaning the Approved, is recognised as the earliest surviving Islamic judicial work. Essentially a legal treatise using hadith as its basis for judicial argument, the purpose of al-Muwatta was to propagate ibadat, or religious worship, and muamalat, or general law, according to the Sunni tradition. Written in the early stage of the articulation of Islamic law, the primary aim of the Muwatta was to infuse the whole of legal life with religious and moral ideas, and this doctrine is what was chosen

by the Abbasids as the necessary unified and organised judicial code across the Islamic empire. (For further reading on Anas Ibn al-Malik and the Maliki School, see N. Cottart, Malikiyya, EI2) This particular copy of al-Muwatta was produced in the early days of the reign of the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt (1169-1250 AD), which had restored Sunni Islam, after two centuries of Fatimid rule. The Maliki School dominated much of North Africa and the Maghreb during the Ayyubid and Marinid periods, and the present manuscript is a fascinating witness to the copying and authorization of legal scholarship during this epoch of development in Islamic legal thought. According to notes of ff.1r and 194r, the work underwent a process of textual authorization by a series of public readings. There is an inscription on f. 1 recording that these writings were first read by Zaki Abu Muhammad Abdallah Ibn Muhammad Abu Bakr Ibn Kaabun al-Tamimi to an assembly of learned men (which are listed) in AH 579/ 1183 AD, and was continued to be read and refuted by a number of scholars, the last reading of which took place 50 years later in Alexandria on Monday 11 Dhul Qada AH 629/ 1232 AD, the date this manuscript was completed. At the final session the scribe himself read the text aloud in the presence of professor Muhammad b. Ibrahim Abd al-Rahman b. Muhammad al-Ansari al-Tilimsani. Thirteenth-century signed and dated books of any type are very rare.

(12970) 7

The earliest and most complete copy known

The Extent of Medical Knowledge (Kitab Kifayat al-Tibb) by Sheikh Kamal al-Din Badi alZaman Ilkhanid Iran Dated Tuesday 20 Rabi al-Akhir AH 663/ 11 February 1265 AD
Arabic and Persian manuscript on paper, 227 folios each with 30 lines of sepia naskh mostly arranged in a series of four columns above another two all with double red intercolumnar rule, a number of folios with different arrangement of text, headings and important words picked out in red or black, a number of folios with later notes inserted at the back, folios trimmed, some marginal repair, wear around the edges, minor areas of re-inking, in later black morocco with central stamped medallion, doublures of blue paper 30.5 x 21.5 cm

This large and impressive manuscript is the earliest and most important recorded copy of an Ilkhanid medical text known as the Kifayat al-tibb. Though the manuscript was extensively studied in Leipzig in 1910, it has never been published or noted in the literature. It is one of the most significant Islamic scientific manuscripts to appear in recent years. The author of this treatise, Sheikh Kamal al-Din Badi al-Zaman, is known by a number of works in Persian and Arabic, including medical works such as Kitab Taqwim al-adwiyah al-mufradah wa-al-aghdhiyah, The Tabulation of Medicaments and Foodstuffs, and the present work, Kitab Kifayat al-Tibb. The Kifayat al-Tibb consists of two sections, the first on the science of treatment and the second on nutrition and remedies (arranged alphabetically and in tables).

The first part discusses the purpose and the division of medicine, anatomy and physiology. This is followed by individual illnesses (mostly with both Arabic and Persian names), their causes, symptoms, and treatment; the organisation is the usual, beginning with the head and working downwards to the feet. Part two (kitab II) contains a description of the simple, then the compound drugs and foods, ordered alphabetically and by table. The second part is apparently an unrecorded text, and may be a major addition to the extant copies of medieval Islamic medical literature. The sequence of the chapters on illnesses and their treatment is the following: head and brain, eyes and eyelids; mouth; liver and spleen; intestine and anus; kidneys and bladder; male sexual organs; female sexual organs. This is followed by contagious and epidemic illnesses, such as smallpox, pests, and others, and fevers which result from fear, anxiety and worry. The author says that he discussed in the 224 chapters 360 illnesses in total. The treatise was composed in 550/1155 according to the colophon in a copy that is preserved in Tehran (see Fihrist-i kutub-i khatti-i Kitabkhanah-i Danishkadah-i Pizishki [cat. of the Med. Faculty lib., Tehran], compiled by Hasan Rahavard, Tehran, 1954, p. 373 no. 222). The Tehran manuscript was completed in 722/1322, with a colophon that states that it was composed for Abu al-Harith MalikShah. The same library in Tehran also has a second, defective, copy. There is a copy in the Chester Beatty Library (Persian cat. vol. 3, no. 311), which is dated 735/1335, and there is an incomplete, early 15th century copy in the Bodleian Library (MS. Pers. d. 94), three in Paris (E. Blochet, Catalogue des manuscrits persans de al Biblitheque Nationale, 1905-34), one copied in 905/1499, one in 955/1548, and one in 999/1590. There is also a defective, undated copy in Upsala. A colophon at the end of the first book in the present manuscript gives a date of Tuesday 20th Rabi al-Akhir AH 663, corresponding to 11 February 1265 AD, which makes it more than 50 years older than the hitherto earliest manuscript. There has been some disagreement as to how to write the authors name. The Oxford copy gives it as: Kamal al-Din Badi al-Zaman Abu al-Fadl Hubaysh ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Hubaysh almutatabbib al-Ghaznawi (a physician of Ghazna). Blochet gives it as Jamal al-Din ... In his Arabic compositions (such as the Taqwim copy in the Bodleian Library), his name is given as: Abu Fadl Hubaysh ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-mutatabbib al-Tiflisi (a physician of Tiflis). This presumably means that he was working in Tiflis when composing the tabular Arabic treatise Taqwim al-Adwiyah..., whereas he was working in Ghazna when composing the Persian-language treatise Kifayat al-Tibb. Because more attention has been given to his Arabic writings than to his Perisan ones, he is most often in bibliographic sources referred to as al-Tiflisi. See, for example, Brockelmann, GAL supl. i. 893, where his nisba is given as Tiflisi, and Manfred Ullmann, Die Medizin im Islam [Handbuch der Orientalistik, I, VI, 1] (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1970), p. 169. A scholars note by the Norwegian historian of medicine Adolf Fonahn (d. 1940), found in the present manuscript, and dated Leipzig, Germany, 1910, mentions that the text was composed by order of Sultan Abul Harith Malikshah. For a summary of information regarding al-Tiflisi/al-Ghaznawis Persian-language medical writings, see C. A. Storey, Persian Literature: A Bio-bibliographical Survey, Volume 2, Part 2: E. Medicine (London: Luzac, 1971), pp. 213-214.

(11065) 8

Western Iran, Mesopotamia or Syria Early 13th century

Sharh al-Isharat wal-Tanbihat (Remarks and Admonitions)

Al-Razis commentary on Ibn Sinas Physics and Metaphysics

Arabic in black naskh script on cream paper, titles and key words in red ink, 19 lines to the page, catchwords added in a later hand in bottom left of verso, some damage on f. 1, top left corner of some folios clipped, 130 folios, missing some text at the end 19 x 14cm

This is a well-preserved and early commentary on the Physics and Metaphysics of Ibn Sina, by the celebrated Islamic medieval theologians and exegetists, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. The thick, burnished cream and pink paper and beautifully executed naskh script are characteristic of thirteenth century luxury scientific manuals produced for the learned elite of society. The quality and appearance of such manuscripts are a testament to the esteem in which scientific learning was held by men of wealth and power in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This copy cannot have been completed long after Fakhr al-Din al-Razis death in 606/1209. The work is in the form of a commentary on the Kitab al-Isharat wal-Tanbihat of another illustrious Islamic polymath, the great Ibn Sina, known in the west as Avicenna. Ibn Sina, born in 370/980 near Bukhara, gained great fame throughout the Islamic and Western world through his scientific works, closely modelled on the traditional knowledge of the Greeks, who strived to unite philosophy with the study of science and nature. The Kitab al-Isharat was Ibn Sinas last great work in a philosophical vein and is considered by some to have been his most personal statement of his thought. Al-Razis Sharh, or Commentary, is largely taken up with examining and questioning the theories of physics and metaphysics

in Ibn Sinas work. The Sharh engendered a further commentary on the Kitab al-Isharat, this time by the great Shii scientist and statesman, Nasir al-Din Tusi, who was keen to defend Ibn Sinas Neo-Platonic theory of emanations from the criticism of al-Razi. Additional corrections and annotations have been placed in the margins of the present copy. Fakhr al-Din al-Razis reputation as an esteemed scholar earned him the sobriquet sheikh al-islam among his contemporaries, an honorific bestowed upon those considered to have superior knowledge of Islam and that which it encompassed. Born in 544/ 1149 in Rayy, near modern-day Tehran, he moved to Khwarazm where he incurred the hostility of the remainder of the Mutazili school with his defence of Sunni Asharism, a theological school founded by Abul-Hasan al-Ashari. Al-Razis peripatetic lifestyle led him to Sarakhs, Bukhara, Ghazna, Samarkand, India, and finally Herat. In these places he acquired both wealth, the respect of rulers like Ala al-Din Khwarazmshah and the Ghurid Sultan of Ghazna, Ghiyath al-Din, and fame as a theologian and opponent of the Kurrami heresy. As a Shafii and defender of Asharite theology, comparisons with Muhammad al-Ghazali (d. 505/ 1111) are obvious, though if anything, al-Razi went even further in adopting the tools of the philosophy in defending his theological stance.

(11188001) 9

A Gift from the Marinid Sultan to the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fez

The Condemnation of Wealth and Miserliness from al-Ghazalis Ihya Ulum al-Din Morocco 13th century

Arabic manuscript on vellum, 17 lines of maghribi script to the page, 18 pages, later red morocco binding 24.4 x 18 cm

This volume, a section from al-Ghazalis magnum opus, the Kitab Ihya Ulum al-Din bears royal waqf (endowment) inscriptions stating that it was presented by the Marinid Sultan al-Muayyid al-Mansur Amir al-Muminin Abu Inan al-Mutawakkil to the prestigious Qarawiyyin mosque in Fez in the end of Rabi al-Awwal 751/ June 1350. Another inscription indicates that the volume had been owned by a certain Ali Ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn Yahya al-Shafii, who perhaps presented it to the Sultan. The use of costly vellum leaves no doubt that this was intended to be a prestige copy of alGhazalis work. Born in Tus, in the province of Khurasan, near the modern town of Meshhed, in 1058 AD, al-Ghazali moved to Baghdad after undertaking his education in various places. Under the Seljuq wazir and statesman Nizam al-Mulk (d. 1092 AD), al-Ghazali was appointed as professor in the Nizamiyya madrasa, the most important academic institution of the day, founded by Nizam al-Mulk (d. 1092 AD). Al-Ghazali was without doubt one of the greatest Islamic intellects, and equalled in his reputation as a mystic thinker only perhaps by Ibn al-Arabi. The present manuscript is a single volume from the Kitab Ihya Ulum al-Din, or The Revival of the Religious Sciences, al-Ghazalis most significant work. In this vast work al-Ghazali sought to harmonize Islamic mysticism with every aspect of Islamic law, theology and worship, stressing the spiritual nature of Islamic ritual and the search for knowledge. The work is

universally acclaimed as a landmark in the acceptance of Islamic mysticism in mainstream Islam, and must count as one of the most highly regarded and quoted religious texts from the medieval period onwards. Al-Ghazalis turn to mysticism took place following a period in which he was one of the most senior figures in Baghdad and a lecturer at the Nizamiyya Madrasa. In 1095 AD, however, al-Ghazali suffered from a lengthy nervous illness, after which he relinquished his public status and career to turn to mysticism. He moved to Syria, living a life of poverty and solitude, during which time he wrote the Ihya. He died in 1111 AD.

(12591) 10

The oldest surviving copy

Ibn Ridwans Commentary on Ptolemys Tetrabiblos, Books III & IV North Africa 13th-14th century

Arabic manuscript on paper, 100 folios, incomplete at end, 21 lines of brown Maghribi script to the page, 2 charts in brown and red ink, modern brown leather binding with original tooled leather covers 21.1 x 22.8 cm

On the evidence of the ownership notes, this beautifully produced manuscript is the oldest recorded surviving copy of Ali Ibn Ridwans famous Commentary on Ptolemys astrological work, the Tetrabiblos. Known as Haly Abenrudian, or simply Haly, in the West, Ibn Ridwan was author of several treatises, all drawing heavily on the Greek scientific tradition. Though Ibn Ridwan was primarily a physician, among his works translated into Latin, the Commentary on the Tetrabiblos was the most famous. It appears to have first been translated into Latin as part of the School of Toledo translation movement during the reign of Alfonso X of Spain (1252-84 AD), when it was copied alongside the Latin translation of Ptolemys original by the Italian Edigio de Tebladis. In 1493 AD it was printed in incunabula form in Venice, and subsequently reprinted and read all over Europe. Of recorded copies of the Commentary, the oldest version we have located appears to be the copy housed in the Millet Library, Ali Emiri, in Istanbul, dated 894/ 1488-89. The script, paper and covers of the present copy are no later than the fourteenth century AD. In faint ink on the title-page of the manuscript there appears to be a prognostication bearing a fragmentary date of the month Shawwal, year ....... and sevenhundred. This must have been added to the manuscript between the years 700/ 1301-799/ 1397, a date entirely consistent with the appearance of the manuscript.

Ptolemy (d. 168 AD) is one of the greatest geographers, astronomers and mathematicians of the Classical Period. The Commentary is an explication and expansion of the most challenging and mathematical of all Hellenistic astrological works. Ibn Ridwan defends Ptolemys thesis that a persons life and character is determined by the alignment of the heavens at the time of the persons birth, and goes further than Ptolemy in providing practical information in the drawing of charts. The final section of the manuscript, for example, is devoted to case studies, in which he examines his own life, as well as those of his mother, father, and two natives of Fustat, one of whom committed suicide. The position of the stars and planets is shown to have determined the character and fortune of each case, with full charts being provided for the last two. Ibn Ridwans interest in astronomy and his estimation of it as an exact science was not atypical for medieval scholars. In the Commentary Ibn Ridwan tells us that astronomy was an essential part of the curriculum for medical students. Ibn Ridwans particular fascination for the subject, as well as his inclusion of so much autobiographical detail, however, may have been inspired by the extraordinary nature of his own career. Born the son of a Giza baker in AH 388/ AD 998, Ibn Ridwan was apparently from an early age fascinated by signs of greatness that he saw in his own horoscope. These signs appeared to be vindicated by his extraordinary rise through the medical establishment, which reached a high point with his appointment as Chief Physician under the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim. In the highly intellectual atmosphere of Fatimid Egypt, Ibn Ridwan was probably the most dedicated proponent of Hellenistic thought and science. This is borne out by his numerous works on Galenic medicine, astronomy, natural philosophy and politics, many of which, unfortunately, have not survived. Ibn Ridwans dedication to the Hellenistic tradition can also be partly explained through his personal circumstances. As a young man of humble origins, forced to pay for expensive tuition, Ibn Ridwan was disgusted at the medical professions lack of intellectual rigour. This led him to a path of self-education through first-hand study of the original sources, an approach that became the linchpin of all his scientific inquiry. This rigid reliance on the Hellenistic authors and his own research gave Ibn Ridwan the reputation for being highly disputatious. It was the side of Ibn Ridwans character that comes to the fore in a famous series of arguments held with the Syrian physician, Ibn Butlan, over the question of the body temperature of a chick in relation to that of an adult chicken! Adherence to the Greek authors became such an important part of Ibn Ridwans philosophy, that he would frequently put his own corrections or additions to their work in the words of the authors themselves. Bibliography Joseph Schacht & Max Meyerhof, The Medico-Philosophical Controversy between Ibn Butlan of Baghdad and Ibn Ridwan of Cairo (Cairo 1937) Ibn Ridwan, Medieval Islamic Medicine: Ibn Ridwans treatise on the prevention of bodily ills in Egypt, translated by Michael W. Dols, edited by Adil. S Gamal (California 1984) Jennifer Ann Seymour, The life of Ibn Ridwan and his commentary on the Tetrabiblos of Ptolemy, Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 2001

(12972) 11

Al-Ghazalis Kimiyya-yi Saadat , The Alchemy of Happiness Copied by Muhammad bin Jamal al-Din bin Hafiz Mahmoud bin Jamal al-Din Ubaydi Probably Iran 14th century

Arabic and Persian manuscript on buff paper, 248 folios plus 3 fly-leaves, each folio with 20 lines of black naskh script, important words or phrases written in red ink or larger black naskh script, final folio signed Muhammad Ibn Jamal al-Din Ibn Hafiz Mahmoud IbnJamal al-Din Abidi, some waterstaining around the edges throughout, some folios discoloured, worn, end repaired, in brown morocco 24.8 x 17 cm

The Kimiyya-yi Saadat, or The Alchemy of Happiness, is a mystical work by al-Ghazali on the religious and moral duties of a believer, an abridgement of one of his most famous works, Ihya Ulum al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences). Al-Ghazali (d. 1111 AD) was without doubt one of the greatest Islamic intellectuals, a formidable and respected theologian, and jurist, mystic as well as a religious reformer. He has been compared and equated with Ibn al-Arabi as one of the greatest Islamic mystic thinkers. The text of the Kimiyya-yi Sadat has a clear Sufi approach and is divided into a preface and four books, each of which is called rukn. The work is divided into the following chapters: I. II. III. IV. V. The Knowledge of Self The Knowledge of God The Knowledge of This World The Knowledge of the Next World Concerning Music and Dancing as Aids to Religious Life

VI. VII. VIII.

Concerning Self-Examination and the Recollection of God Marriage as a Help or Hindrance to the Religious Life The Love of God

Another copy of the work can be found in the Wellcome Institute (Fateme Keshavarz, A Descriptive and Analytical Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the Library of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, London 1986, p. 527, no. 355).

(8995) 12

The poems of an Andalusi exile, with a commentary

Sharh Qasaid Ibn al-Murahhal

Copied by Muhammad Ibn al-Sheikh al-Zakariya Yahya Ibn Abdallah Bakr Morocco, probably Fez AH 743/ 1342 AD

Arabic manuscript on cream paper, 25 folios, 38 lines of small maghribi script to the page, with titles in red, gold and blue, opening folio and final page colophon in gold thulth script, both with gold interlace border and gold interlace marginalia, some watermarking on many pages, later red morocco binding with stamped floral medallions and flap 26 x 20.2 cm

This highly polished manuscript is an elegant survival of fourteenth-century Maghribi literary manuscript production. The opening and end of the manuscript are illuminated with inscriptions in large gold thulth script within ornamental panels of gold interlace. The poems are distinguished from the running commentary by a darker script and wider margins, and keywords are picked out in a range of gold, green and red. The prose text is a commentary on the collection of the qasidahs (a type of Arabic poem) by Ibn Murahhal al-Malaqi (d. 1300). A native of Malaga, Ibn Murahhal, like many of the talented Andalusis of his day, found service in North Africa at the court of the Marinids. The Islamic presence in Spain shrunk dramatically in the thirteenth century following the defeat of the Almohads at the Battle of Navas de Tolosa (1212), and by the end of the century only Granada, Almera and Malaga were in Muslim hands. Morocco, however, which had hitherto been Islamic Spains inferior neighbour, was unified under the Marinid dynasty, which played an increasingly important role in the affairs of Andalusia and succeeded in attracting Spanish luminaries to add en element of Andalusi elegance to North African cultural life. According to the great historian Ibn Khaldun, Ibn al-Murahhal was one of the last of the great Andalusian litterateurs to embark on this career path.

The illumination around the title and on the finispiece, as well as the beautiful execution of the script, would suggest that this manuscript was made for an important patron. On f. 1r the copyist has included a paragraph with a few biographical details concerning Ibn Murahhal. The copyist also implies that he transcribed the work from the original author, who it would seem was himself an acquaintance of Ibn Murahhal. At the end of the paragraph, praise is given to a certain Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Salaqi (?) alFasi (of Fez), and given Ibn Murahhals attachment to the Marinid court in Fez, it is likely that this manuscript was produced in Fez. The colophon gives the name of the scribe as Muhammad Ibn al-Sheikh al-Zakariya Yahya Ibn Abdallah Bakr, and the date of the completion of the manuscript as Jumadi al-Awwal (7)43 (November, 1342).

(8592) 13

An early pilgrimage manual to Mecca and Medina With 46 illustrations of talismanic and mystical tables Sultanate India or Central Asia Late 14th century

Persian manuscript on paper, 23 folios each folio with small diagrams in red, green and yellow, text written in black or red bihari script, incomplete at beginning and end, old repairs, later brown morocco binding 15.5 x 12 cm

This intriguing, perhaps unique, manuscript, the earliest known of its kind, is in part a pilgrimage manual with illustrations of holy places such as tombs of the prophets, sacred mountains of Safa, Marwa and Thawr, and partly a work on talismans, illustrated throughout with diagrams of protective charms. The work is without a title or any information on where and when it was executed. It is written in an attractive bihari-type script, characteristic of the Indian subcontinent. The fat horizontal stretching of some of the letters are reminiscent of Ilkhanid and Timurid scripts, examples of which can be seen in a Freer Shahnama and a Majma al-Tawarikh (see S. Canby, Princes, Poets and Paladins: Islamic and Indian Paintings from the Collection of Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan, London, 1998, cat. nos. 3-5, pp. 23-25; cat. no. 10, p. 31), and Rashid al-Dins Jami al-Tawarikh (T.W. Lentz and G.D. Lowry, Timur and the Princely Vision: Persian Art and Culture in the Fifteenth Century, Los Angeles 1989, p.98). Some of the decoration and the colour palette with the strong ochre-red suggests an Indian provenance, whereas the drawings of tombs, stupa-like in appearance, suggest Afghanistan or Central Asia. A similar colour palette and style of decoration can be seen in a Quran scroll on cotton dating to circa 1395, sold in

Sothebys (15 October 1998, lot 15). The style of calligraphy also shows very similar qualities to that of the Sothebys Quran scroll. The work has a distinctly Shiite quality to it, with repeated invocation of the names of Hasan and Husayn. According to Barbara Schmitz, apart from pilgrimage certificates in scroll form which go back to at least the eleventh century AD, most of the earliest surviving pilgrimage manuals are only datable to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries such as Laris Futuh al-Haramayn which was dedicated to Sultan Muzaffar Ibn Mahmud Shah of Gujarat in 911/ 1505-1506. The present manual is therefore one of the earliest of its type (See Barbara Schmitz, Islamic Manuscripts in the New York Public Library, Oxford and New York, 1992, pp. 42-50.) According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, diagrams and tables such as those found in this manuscript are known as jadwal, into which names and signs possessing magic powers are inserted. These are usually certain mysterious characters, Arabic letters and numerals, magic words, the names of God, angels and demons, as well as of planets, the days of the week, and the elements. Surahs and verses from the Quran such as Surah al-Fatihah, Surah Yasin, and the Throne verse (Surah al-Baqarah, verse 255), are also included.

The illustrations and tables are as follows: f. 1r f. 1v f. 2r A numerical jadwal (table or plan) with each mystical number within a circle on green, yellow and red grounds A numerical jadwal surmounted by the basmallah and the shahadah and an inverted crescent with a Persian inscription in red ink A roundel with the Five Abbreviated Letters K. H. Y. A. S. which appear at the beginning of Surah Maryam. These letters are symbols of which the true meaning is only known by God. There also appears the shahadah and the names of the four Pious Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali A roundel with the name of the Prophet Muhammad within a square with the border incorporating the Throne verse (Surah al-Baqarah, The Heifer, verse 255)

f. 2v

f. 3r f. 3v f. 4r f. 4v f. 5r f. 5v f. 6r f. 6v f. 7r f. 7v f. 8r f. 8v f. 9r f. 9v f. 10r f. 10v f. 11r f. 11v f. 12r f. 12v f. 13r f. 13v f. 14r f. 15r f. 16v f. 17v f. 18v f. 19r f. 19v f. 20r f. 20v f. 21r f. 21v f. 22r f. 22v f. 23r f. 23v

A chart with two diagrams of the scales for weighing good and evil. A diagram of the prayer places and tombs of the Prophet, the Pious Caliphs and the Imams A diagram with the Victory verse (Surah al-Saff, The Battle Array, verse 13) written twice in red ink A diagram of the Prophets tomb in the shape of a stupa A numerical jadwal surmounted by invocations to God and the Prophet A numerical jadwal surmounted by invocations to God A coloured diagrams with rings? A diagram with standards and a bow and arrow A numerical jadwal with mystical numbers copied in black and red ink A chart with a verse from the Quran on loans (Surah al-Baqarah, The Heifer, verse 245) A drawing of a tomb under an elaborate arch surmounted by circular standards A diagram of Ibrahims mosque with the word ya fattah, the Opener or Conqueror (one of the attributes of God), written twice in black ink within a circle with yellow borders A diagram with the word Imam written four times followed by the attributes, malik, shafi, khalifah and azam A diagram of holy places at the sacred mountains at Safa and al-Marwa near Mecca A diagram showing the tomb of Ibrahim A diagram showing a shrine with four tombs including that of Ibrahim, Qasim and Tahir A diagram of Jabal Thawr, which has a cave where the Prophet hid from his enemy Quraysh A diagram illustrating six standards and the words Alim Padishahwritten next to each standard A numerical jadwal with mystical numbers copied in black ink each incorporated in a circle within a green, black, red or yellow square A diagram with the names of the Pious Caliphs in the four corners, borders decorated with scrolling in black, central roundel with a continuously written word talha A diagram with Allah written within a roundel flanked by the names of the Pious Caliphs, borders decorated with floral scrolls in red, green and black A diagram showing three inverted hearts surrounded with selected numbers on ground decorated with red hatching A rectangular diagram decorated with red hatching incorporating two roundels incorporating selected words and the number seven, borders decorated with floral scrolls A rectangular diagram decorated with red and black hatching, borders with invocations to God and the Prophet A diagram with the words Allah and Muhammad A diagram with the word ya ghafur, Oh, Forgiving One! (one of the attributes of God) A diagram with central rectangular panel decorated with red hatching incorporating selected words and numbers A diagram with two central roundels incorporating selected words and numbers A diagram with a central medallion incorporating talismanic inscriptions and flanked by the names of the Pious Caliphs A diagram with invocations to God and talismanic inscriptions A diagram with invocations to God and the Prophet and selected numbers A diagram the names of the Pious Caliphs and talismanic inscriptions and numbers A diagram incorporating the verse: God! There is no God but He, the Living, the Selfsubsisting, Eternal (surat al-Baqarah, The Heifer, verse 255) A diagram with a central roundel incorporating a mystical word, and flanked by the names of the four Pious Caliphs A diagram incorporating mystical numbers and words including that relating to the wicked and evil A jadwal consisting of 9 squares incorporating mystical words and numbers A diagram incorporating mystical numbers and letters, and the name of the prophet Suleyman (Solomon), and the Pious Caliphs

(5925) 14

A volume from al-Bukharis al-Sahih Made for Abul-Abbas al-Qabaili, the Chamberlain of the Marinid Sultan Morocco AH 796/ 1394-5 AD
Arabic manuscript on paper, 15 lines of a spacious maghribi script in black ink, keywords in red and blue ink, the name of God in gold ink, fully vocalised with diacritics, small gold teardrops as section markers; with colophon, geometrical gold panel on last folio with gold medallion; some marginal notes, 18th-century red morocco binding with stamped central medallion and gold ruled edges 5.7 x 19 cm

This is a finely written and illuminated volume from the canonical collection of hadith (Prophetic traditions), al-Bukharis al-Jami al-Sahih, and this copy was made for one of the most important men of the state in late fourteenth-century Marinid Morocco. The final page of the manuscript reads that it was copied for the library of the Scholar, the Exalted Hajib (chamberlain), Imam of our Community, Our Sayyid and our Pillar .... Abul-Abbas Ahmad Ibn al-Shaykh al-Alim al-Alim ..... Abul-Hasan alQabaili. The position of hajib differed in duties from place to place in the Islamic world, encompassing duties such as supervision of the palace and its finances, and court ceremony. In Marinid Morocco, the hajib acted as a close and personal advisor to the Sultan. The quality of the script, illumination and paper are consonant with a patron of the highest rank. In large, spacious maghribi script, the text has been enlivened with keywords in red and blue. The word Allah has been picked out in gold and the start of each chapter is marked with the kind of pointed gold teardrop devices found on contemporary illuminated Qurans. On the final page, the name of the patron is followed by the date 796/1394-5, which is enclosed within a panel of gold strap work. The Jami al-Sahih Al-Bukharis most famous work is the Jami al-Sahih. It is one of six canonical collections of hadith recognised in Sunni Islam, which recounts the sayings and actions of the prophet Muhammad. Sahih means sound, and refers to the authors intention of including only traditions considered to be the authentic words and actions of the Prophet, according to the reliability of hadith transmitters leading back to the original transmitter. Al-Bukhari apparently chose his traditions from as many as 600,000, and his work contains 7,397 traditions with complete chains of transmission, of which 4,635 are repetitions. The entire work, of which the present manuscript contains part 7, is divided into 97 books with 3,450 chapters, with traditions arranged according to subject matter. The majority of the Jami alSahih concerns ritual and legal matters of Islamic law, and smaller sections dealing with questions of theology, Quran exegesis, and the life of Muhammad. Al-Bukharis work is generally accepted by Sunnis as the most authoritative book after the Quran. (Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari. Encyclopedia of World Biography, Thomson Gale, 2004.)

(8511) 15

Al-Qamus al-Muhit, The Great Dictionary of al-Firuzabadi

Eastern Mediterranean Circa AH 800/ 1400 AD

Arabic manuscript on paper, 426 leaves, 35 lines to the page written in small naskh script, letters and significant words picked out in red or written in a bolder and thicker black ink, headings picked out in blue throughout, inner borders ruled in blue and gold, catchwords in outer margins, occasional commentaries written at a later date in margins, one illuminated headpiece in colours and gold incorporating an invocation to God in kufic in white, slight waterstaining mostly restricted to outer margins otherwise in good condition, brown morocco with stamped central medallions, pendants, and corner pieces of leather inlay decorated with floral motifs 29.5 x 19.3 cm

Al-Firuzabadis al-Qamus al-Muhit represents one of the major medieval landmarks in providing a systematic lexicon for the Arabic language. Encyclopaedic in nature, the work encompasses a vast vocabulary, including numerous geographical, scientific, zoological and botanical terms. Al-Firuzabadi named his dictionary al-Qamus al-Muhit, the Expansive Ocean, with reference to the works rich vocabulary and inclusive nature. Al-Firuzabadis dictionary proved to be so popular in subsequent years that the word qamus, or ocean, came to be adopted as the Arabic term for encyclopaedia or dictionary. Judging by the script and illumination, this magnificent copy was probably made during the authors lifetime.

Efforts in subsequent centuries to update the Arabic lexicon almost entirely took al-Firuzabadis work as the starting point; Murtada al-Zabidis (d. 1206/1791) Taj al-Arus min Jawahir al-Qamus is essentially an expansion of the Qamus. Likewise, when the Lebanese scholar Butrus al-Bustani (d. 1301/1883) sought to create an Arabic dictionary that followed the European arrangement, the work he created was largely fashioned out of al-Firuzabadis Qamus (see J. Eckmann, Kamus, EI2). Al-Firuzabadis dictionary was based on the classification of words according to the final radical of the root, followed by the first and then intermediate radicals. This classification, first used in the fourth/tenth century by al-Jawhari in his Sahah, was particularly useful to poets in that it provided a lexicon of rhyming words. The dictionary has been published many times, translated (into Persian and Turkish) and made the basis of several European dictionaries, including the Thesaurus linguae Arabicae of A. Giggeius (Milan 1632). The calligraphy and illuminated heading in this large and spacious manuscript point to a date of production of circa 800/1400 in the Mamluk or early Ottoman Eastern Mediterranean lands. Al-Firuzabadi was born near Shiraz in 729/1328 and educated in Baghdad; in 750/1349 he went to Jerusalem with his teacher and remained there for ten years. Thereafter he travelled all over the Islamic world to such places as Cairo, Anatolia, Mecca, and even Delhi, where he was received with respect by the great leaders of the day, including Timur in Shiraz and the Jalairid ruler of Baghdad, Sultan Uways. In 796/1394 he set sail to Yemen, where he was appointed chief qadi, residing in the Sultans residence and eventually marrying his daughter. In 802/1400, however, he returned to Mecca, going on pilgrimage and setting up a Maliki madrasa (school) there. He died in 817/1415, with a reputation as an extraordinarily learned and charismatic figure. Though the author of a prodigious number of works on a variety of subjects including tafsir (exegesis) and history, it was in lexicography that he truly excelled. Two later ownership inscriptions and seal impressions are located on the final folio of this copy. One of these is an ownership inscription by Mustafa Ibn Hussein written in Egypt, with a seal impression which can be dated to the sixteenth or seventeenth century; the other inscription is by Mir AbdulRasul Ibn Hajji Mir Qadim at dar al-sultanah, probably Persia, and is dated 1223/ 1808.

(13468) 16

The Cosmography of Ibn al-Wardi

Kharidat al-Ajaib wa Faridat al-Gharaib, The Pearl of Wonders and the Uniqueness of
Things Strange Western Mediterranean Early 15th century Including a colour map of the world and a diagram of the Kaba

Arabic manuscript on thick cream paper, 267 folios with 17 lines of naskh script in black and red ink with headings in an elegant thulth hand, red dots marking end of sentence, chapter headings in large bold muhaqqaq in black ink, marginal notes in maghribi script in sepia ink, later stamped and tooled gilt leather binding, excellent condition 19.5 x 16 cm

This is a contemporary copy of an illustrated cosmography, and perhaps the earliest to survive of the great geographer Ibn al-Wardi (d. probably 1457 AD). It includes a double-page colour map of the world, an illustration of the Kaba, as well as a diagram of the strategic game of chess, with an explanation of the chess pieces and their moves. In addition to a compendium of place names, seas and mountains, the author has also included a description of the flora and fauna of the places he describes. Throughout the work, the author refers to various historians and geographers, such as al-Masudi (d. circa 956 AD), Ibn al-Adhim (d. 1262), and Ibn Hawqal (died end of the tenth century). The original work is said to have been completed around the year 1419 AD, as stated on the earliest known copy which is dated 1479 AD (cited in R. Sellheim, Arabische Handschriften: Materialen zur Arabischen Literaturgeschichte, Wiesbaden, 1976-87, Vol. I, pp. 184), where the author is given as Abu Hafs Umar ibn Muhmmad ibn al-Wardi, and a manuscript from 1487 AD, where the author is given as Siraj

al-Din Abu l-Hafs Umar Ibn Muzaffar Ibn Muhammad ibn Umar Ibn Abi l-Fawaris Ibn al-Wardi, who was active in Aleppo, and died circa 1457 AD. The paper of the present manuscript can be clearly located to Spain no later than the middle of the fifteenth century. The work has also been attributed to an earlier author, Zayn al-Din Abu Hafs Umar Ibn al-Muzaffar Ibn al-Wardi, who died in 1348 AD, but according to the 1479 and 1487 copies of the Kharidat, this author would pre-date the original work. The type of paper used here, which is a style associated with fourteenth and fifteenth century Spain, and the style of calligraphy which points to a fourteenth century hand, suggest this copy was produced during the fourteenth or fifteenth century, and may thus indicate the earlier authorship. Though the identity of the author is still uncertain, at the very least the physical evidence of our copy would indicate either that it is a very early edition of the later Ibn al-Wardi, perhaps copied within a few years of the original, or that it is an edition of the earlier author, completed within less than a century of his death.

Islamic sacred geography differs from the Ptolemaic tradition in that it does not employ cartographic grids, or longitude and latitude scales; as a rule, these used Mecca and the Kaba as the centre of the world. The tradition is generally associated with tenth century scholars such as al-Balkhi, al-Istakhri, alMuqaddasi, Ibn Hawqal, and the ninth century geographer Ibn Khurdadhbeh (d. 912 AD) who devised the earliest known geographical work using the Kaba as the centre of the world in his Kitab al-Masalik wal-Mamalik. These geographical works neglected to include coordinates or to employ mathematical geography in the maps, and bear great similarity to the simpler-produced maps of medieval Europe (D.

King, World maps and finding the direction and distance of Mecca: Innovation and tradition in Islamic science, Leiden, 1999, pp. 36-38). The Kharidat al-Ajaib appears also to draw heavily on the Jami al-Funun of Najm alDin al-Harrani al-Hanbali, who lived in Egypt in circa 1332 (see Ibn al-Wardi, EI2). Between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, the study of Islamic geography often extended to include cosmology, cosmogony, astrology and similar subjects, rather than the production of purely geographical works which were characteristic of earlier periods. These cosmological works seem to have been produced for the average lay reader as organized compendia of world knowledge, rather than critical scientific works, and relied heavily on earlier sources. (Fr. Taeschner, Djughrafiya, EI2) The text and map in the present manuscript suggest a medieval precursor; old place names and archaic descriptions occur frequently. The map towards the beginning, seen on ff. 3v-4r, shows a circular world divided into Europe, Africa and Asia. Its sense of proportion is highly schematic, and the location of certain places is rather unusual, but Spain (al-Andalus), Constantinople (Qustantaniyyah) and the River Nile are all approximately where one might expect. The world is shown surrounded by water, with an outer boundary of mountains, seen here as the polychrome outer border. In addition to the extensive chapter on geography, the Kharidat al-Ajaib contains a chapter on the types of birds and other animals that exist in the places that the author has described. The inclusion of a small section explaining the game of chess, including a detailed drawing, has not been recorded in other copies of Ibn al-Wardis cosmography. The large circular diagram with the Kaba at its centre, shown on f. 64r, shows the direction of prayer to Mecca (qiblah) from different countries, seen here in 35 sectors. The sectors are associated with the north, south, east and west walls of the Kaba. The region between North Africa and Syria is associated with the north-west wall of the Kaba, with a qiblah from east to south. The region between Iraq and Afghanistan is connected with the north-east wall of the Kaba and has a qiblah from south to west. India, Tibet and China are associated with the Black Stone in the eastern corner of the Kaba, with a qiblah pointing slightly northwest. A fourth region, the Yemen, the Hadramawt, Aden and Socotra are linked with the southern corner of the Kaba, with a qiblah pointing north. (D. King, Islamic Sacred Geography, in Makka, EI2). A later ownership inscription on the inside of the back doublure is dated 1090/ 1679. Several inscriptions on the inside of the front doublure exist in a later maghribi hand; one of these refers to one unidentified individual by the name of Ibn al-Mamun. The final page bears a partial reference to the owner or scribe of the manuscript, whose name appears to be al-Qawariqi. In addition to the two dated copies mentioned earlier, further copies of the Kharidat al-Ajaib include one in the Vatican Library dating to the eighteenth century, one of a similar date (1778 AD) in the National Library of the Czech Republic, as well as one in the Library of Congress, which is undated. There are also several examples in the Chester Beatty Library, dating from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries; and several examples are cited in C. Brockelmann, Geschichte der Arabischen Literatur, Vol. II, Leiden, 1938, pp. 162-163.

Explanation of the game of chess

(13372) 17

A Diwan of Hafez Signed Ghiyath Ibn Bayazid Sarraf Iran Second or third quarter of the 15th century
Persian manuscript on paper, 186 folios with 12 lines of black nastaliq in gold ruler, with headings in gilt in cloud band on a red cross-hatched ground, opening folio with inscribed lozenge-shaped shamsah, following folio with illuminated heading split-palmette scrolls on a ground of red, black and red, brown leather tooled binding, some damp marking but in fair condition 16.5 x 10.7 cm

This exquisitely executed manuscript is an early copy of the Diwan of Hafez, one of the most famous works of poetry in literary history. It was first composed by Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafez al-Shirazi (circa 1315-1391 AD), one of the most celebrated and renowned Persian poets, and a writer considered to be unsurpassed in the art of the ghazal (elegiac love poem) form. The present manuscript contains approximately 497 ghazals. Several manuscripts exist dating from the second or third quarters of the fifteenth century, no more than 60 years after the death of Hafez, but those containing less than 500 poems are considered to be closest to the original Diwan. (G.M. Wickens, Hafiz, EI2)

The lozenge-shaped illuminated shamsah on the opening page contains an inscription with a dedication to the owner: Sahibihi wa malikihi mawlana Shams al-Din Muhammad Savaji. This translates as: The owner and patron is Mawlana Shams al-Din Muhammad Savaji. Although it is not known who Mawlana Shams al-Din Muhammad al-Savaji was, his spiritual title, mawlana (our lord or master), suggests he was a respected leader or scholar in a religious institution such as perhaps a madrasa or a dar al-ilm. The illuminated floral scroll decoration around the inscription panel of the shamsah is characteristic of Timurid decoration of the early fifteenth century. For similar examples see Thomas W. Lentz & Glenn D. Lowry, Timur and the Princely Vision: Persian Art in the Fifteenth Century, Los Angeles, 1989, cat. no. 18, 42, 55; David James, After Timur: Qurans of the 15th and 16th centuries, London 1992, cat. nos. 7 and 18; David J. Roxburgh, The Persian Album: From Dispersal to Collection, London, 2005, pp. 36, 67, fig. 34). The scribe, Ghiyath Ibn Bayazid Sarraf, is recorded in a copy of the Shahnama now in the British Library (Add.18.188) which is signed Ghiyath al-Din Ibn Bayazid Sarraf, and is dated 2nd Jumadi 891(June 1486). This Shahnama has been attributed to Shiraz and Herat by different scholars; the Persian scholar Yahya Zoka rejects the Shiraz attribution and suggests either Herat or Anatolia (published on the internet in a Persian article on a copy of the Khavaran-nama written in 1426-27 AD). Based on the comparison with the British Library Shahnama, one can attribute a fifteenth century date to the present Diwan of Hafez. Although numerous other inscriptions throughout the manuscript indicate that it was once in Turkey and was owned by Ottomans, the manuscript itself was most likely produced in Persia. The name Bayazid, although a popular Ottoman name, also belonged to two other recorded scribes with the name Bayazid: one Bayazid Dawri was from Herat and another, Bayazid Purani, worked in Bukhara. The name Ghiyath al-Din, a popular Persian name in the fifteenth century, also points to an Iranian origin for this superb copy of the Diwan of Hafez.

(7488) 18

Firaq-nama, The Book of Separation

by Salman Savaji Copied by Yaqub b. Muhammad Darvish al-Hafiz al-Saraji Samarqand Dated Rabi al-Awal 835/ November-December 1431 AD

On fine polished paper, 112 folios, 19 or fewer lines of nastaliq in black ink, in one and two columns, gold rulings between verses and columns, framed in gold and blue, with catchwords in a wide outer margin. Illuminated headpiece in blue, white, gold and green. Slight staining on a few pages in outer margin, otherwise in very good condition. 16th century brown morocco binding, corner pieces and central medallions, latterly painted gold, rebacked and rubbed at edges. 22.4 x 13.4 cm

This is an exquisitely illuminated Timurid copy of the Firaq-nama, a poem in long verse written to console Sultan Uvais, the Jalairid ruler of Iraq (1356-74) and Azerbaijan (1360-1374), for the loss of his beloved. The colophon records that the manuscript was copied in Samarqand in 1431, by Yaqub b. Muhammad Darvish al-Hafiz al-Saraji, a previously unrecorded scribe. Samarqand was at that time governed by Ulugh Beg (d. 1449), the grandson of Timur. The author, the reputable panegyrist Jamal al-Din Salman Savaji (d. 1376), who was primarily known for his skill in poetry of short form, was a eulogist of the Jalayrids, and first completed the Firaq-nama work in 1359-1360. (J. Rypke, History of Iranian Literature, Dordrecht, 1968, pp. 261) The illuminated heading displayed in the present manuscript, consisting of a lobed lapis cartouche set in a rectangular gold and red floral background under blue and polychrome arabesque scrolling, is characteristic of the superior craftsmanship for which artists employed by the Timurid prince Ulug Beg were suitably renowned. The unusual style of the leaves in the lobes of the cartouche, as well as the uncommon use of red in the gold background, reflect the wide diversity of the artistic repertoire of the period, with artists from lands across the Timurid Empire, such as Anatolia, Western Iran and Central Asia, working under the patronage of the Timurid court. The fine, regular nastaliq hand, and the expense of producing the fine quality, thin, highly burnished cream paper further point to a commission by a wealthy member of society.

For another later example of a Firaq-nama dating to the last quarter of the fifteenth century, see B. Schmitz, Islamic and Indian Manuscripts and Paintings in The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, 1997, cat. no. 4, pp.27-28, figs. 43-44.

(7490) 19

Manuscript of two mystical Diwans Western Iran Dated AH 874/ 1469 AD

Persian manuscript on paper, 119 leaves, 13 lines to the page written in two columns of nastaliq script, interlinear and intercolumnar rules in gold throughout, margins ruled in gold, catchwords; two illuminated headpieces in colours and gold, one smudged; one illuminated shamsah; trimmed, some worming and slight smudging, otherwise in good condition. Brown morocco binding with flap, covers laid with marbled paper 16 x 10.2 cm

The manuscript contains the diwans, or poetical collections, of Muhammad Shirin Maghribi (d. 1406-7) and Azari (d. 1462). Both authors were renowned Persian mystical poets who found favour at the major courts of Iran and India in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. Though several works by both Maghribi and Azeri have survived, this manuscript contains a very rarely recorded copy of the Diwan-i Maghribi, and a previously unrecorded copy of a diwan of Azari. Muhammad Shirin Maghribi was born in Ammand, near Lake Urumiyya in eastern Azerbaijan, around 1346. He is considered to be one of the most important fourteenth century Persian Sufi poets, whose most famous works drew inspiration from the great mystical thinker Ibn al-Arabi (d. 1240), which in accordance to Ibn al-Arabis principles focussed on wahdat al-wujud, or the Unity of Being. (L. Lewisohn, Shirin Maghribi, Muhammad, EI2). The Diwan-i Maghribi, of which very few recorded copies exist (Bodleian Library, Ms. Ouseley Add. 175, dated 1521; Leiden University Library, Ar3739/Or.12.067, dated 1406) is considered to be his most celebrated work. He died some time between 1406 and 1408. Nur al-Din Azari Tusi, a Shiite Sufi poet, was active between 1382 and 1462. He was considered for the position of court poet by the Persian ruler Shahrukh (r. 1405-1407), but became influenced by the

Sufi Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Tusi Ghazali. During travels in India, he was appointed as poet-laureate by the Deccani king Shah Bahmani (r. 1417-1435), who commissioned Azari to write the Bahman-nama, a history of the Bahman dynasty. He was awarded large sums of silver and slaves upon his departure to return to Khurasan, and with this wealth, Azari commissioned the construction of houses and hospices for the poor, dervishes, pilgrims and students, for whom he also provided endowments. He died in Khurasan in 1461-2, and was buried in one of his foundations. (A. A. Rajai, Azari, Encyclopaedia Iranica) Although he was a prolific writer, this diwan is not among his previously recorded work. The present manuscript is a fine example of an early Turkman manuscript and is notable for its light cream, high quality polished paper, beautiful nastaliq script, neat and yet subtly varied format. The illuminated shamsah on the opening folio has been delicately finished with blue, brown and black floral and arabesque scrolling, using a colour palette characteristically seen in Turkman illumination. Similar detail can be seen in the illuminated headings, where the illuminated cartouche is contained in a knotwork border, comparable to the Ilkhanid style, by which Turkman art was influenced; the illuminated scrolling between the columns on ff. 1v and 2r also reflect a decorative repertoire reminiscent of Ilkhanid work. The textual arrangement provided by the interlinear and intercolumnar margins ranges from simple uninterrupted double columns to boxes of text ordered in a ladder-like composition (see, for example, ff. 81r, 82v). The manuscript contains several marginal notes in Ottoman and Persian, and bears the date 22 Jumadi al-Thani 874/ 27 December 1469 (f. 76a).

(6510) 20

Nizamis Khamsah, The Quintet comprising five Masnawi poems in Persian North or Western India Late 15th century 23 miniatures

On Indian unpolished tan coloured paper, 271 folios each with 21 lines of a clear, consistent and well-formed nastaliq, in black ink, rubrication in red or blue naskh, in 4 columns within double red inner and single blue outer rules. The manuscript opens (ff. 1v, 2r) with a double-page illuminated sarlouh after an illuminated shamsah (f.1r). 4 illuminated title pages, 23 miniatures, worming on many pages, loose without binding 24.6 x 16 cm

One of the few surviving illustrated books from Sultanate period India, this manuscript contains 23 miniatures in a Sultanate style of painting that combines both Mamluk Egyptian and Persian features. It has been discussed and reproduced in E. Brac de la Perrire, Lart du livre dans lInde sultanats, Paris, 2008, pp. 62-65; pp. 118-119.The pages with miniatures were numbered at an early date in black ink and renumbered later with Hindi numerals. On the basis of these numerals the manuscript originally contained at least 69 miniatures of which at least 64 remained when they were renumbered in North India, possibly in the eighteenth century. Nothing is known about previous owners of the manuscript in India. A circular seal impression on f. 1r is now illegible as is part of another cut off by the repair of the outer margin. An owners note on f.1v has been largely removed by the same marginal repair. Another on f. 271v in a casual nineteenth century hand records that the manuscript was owned by a certain Mulla Mohammed Idris Ibn Idris, who appears to have resided in Saharanpur north of Delhi. A further late inscription on f. 271v lists a variety of herbs together with prices or quantities. A bold and sprawling comment beneath the final verse of Layla

wa Majnun bears some resemblance to the handwriting of the Emperor Jahangir within whose reign it falls but there is no evidence elsewhere that the manuscript has ever formed part of the Mughal royal library. It reads On the date of the 4th Jumadi the second of the year 1031 (16th April 1621 AD) I commenced (it) on Saturday .....rahim [erased] Allah.

A number of illustrated pages (now dispersed) were removed from the manuscript before 1965 when the concluding illustration to the Iqbalnama was published by the then owner (see Stuart Cary Welch and Milo Cleveland Beach, Gods, Thrones and Peacocks: Northern Indian Painting from two traditions: fifteenth to nineteenth centuries, Asia Society, New York 1965, pp. 57 and 115, no. 2). Following the sale of paintings from the collection of Cary Welch (Sotheby & Co., Catalogue of Fine Indian and Persian Miniatures and a Manuscript Selected from the well-known collection of Cary Welch, London, 12th December, 1972, lots 178-181) a total of four miniatures became known of which two (179-180) entered the Keir Collection (B. W. Robinson, ed., Islamic Painting and the Arts of the Book, London, 1976, III. 205, 206, pp. 173-4, pl. 46) and one (lot 178) entered the Binney Collection (Indian Miniature Painting From the Collection of Edwin Binney, 3rd: The Mughal and Deccani Schools with some related Sultanate material, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 1973, p. 20, no. 5). A fifth miniature was seen with R.E. Lewis of San Francisco in 1976. Four more pages appeared on the market in 1977 (Sothebys, Fine Oriental Miniatures Manuscripts and an important Quran, London, 20th July, 1977, lots 92-3, and Sothebys Catalogue of Indian Miniatures, London, 7th December, 1977, lots 114-115). In 1978 a further miniature was sold by P. & D. Colnaghi (see Falk, T., Smart, E.S., Skelton, R., Indian Painting, Mughal and Rajput and a Sultanate Manuscript, P. & D. Colnaghi, London, 1978, no. 1) and entered a private collection from which it was sold in 1997 (Sothebys Catalogue of Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, London, 23 April 1997, lot 1). Another illustrated folio was sold by P. & D. Colnaghi to the Victoria and Albert Museum (I.S. 31-198-0). For miniatures incorrectly ascribed to this manuscript, see Stanislaw Czuma, Indian Art from the George Bickford Collection, Cleveland

Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, 1975, no. 43, and Sothebys catalogue Indian Himalayan South-East Asian Art and Indian Miniatures, New York, 21 September 1985, lot 447, where a page from the Benares Shahnama (M. Chandra, Studies in Early Indian Painting, London, 1970, pl. X) is also cited as being from this manuscript. The manuscript containing these miniatures belongs to a small group of which the first and best known is a dispersed Khamsah of Amir Khusraw that came to light with an attribution to early fourteenth century Northern India in the Royal Academys Persian Exhibition of 1931 (L. Binyon, J.V.S. Wilkinson & B. Gray, Persian Miniature Painting, Oxford, 1933, p. 43, no. 21). It was a particularly prescient attribution, made long before the existence of Sultanate painting became recognised, and it in fact conflicted with Binyons view that the pre-Mughal Sultans were hostile to miniature painting. The illustration in question had previously been identified as Mongol by Migeon and there does appear to be some input from the fourteenth century Ilkhanid school of Shiraz under the Inju dynasty, but the main stylistic formulae adopted by the illustrators of the manuscript are those of Mamluk Egypt with which there were flourishing trading contacts during the Sultanate period. There is now general agreement that the manuscript should be attributed to the midfifteenth century, with opinions regarding its place of production being largely divided between Delhi and Western India. It has also been assumed that it was produced in a bourgeois rather than a courtly context, the text written in rather a careless and unsophisticated version of nastaliq, which with one or two exceptions appears almost a century later in India than when it was first developed in Iran (circa 1400). The Indian sultans appear to have had difficulty in obtaining the services of the finest painters but judging from their monumental inscriptions skilled calligraphers appear to have been more readily available. Another feature of the manuscript which falls short of both Mamluk and Iranian standards is the decoration of the illuminated headings (G.D. Lowry, M.C. Beach, R. Marefat, W.M. Thackston, An Annotated and Illustrated Checklist of the Vever Collection, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, 1988, figs. 192, 196), which in some respects resemble those of unillustrated manuscripts produced in Jaunpur during the fifteenth century. Also in all these respects it shares close affinities with an illustrated manuscript of Jalal al-Din Rumis Masnawi that appeared on the Paris art market in 1988 (unpublished). If these two manuscripts are the earliest known examples of this Mamluk-influenced group, four pages from a Shahnama in the Bharat Kala Bhavan are probably not much later and exhibit scarcely any difference in style (Anand Krishna, An Early Ragamala Series in Ars Orientalis, IV, 1961, figs. 37-9; K. Khandalavala & Moti Chandra, New Documents of Indian Painting A Reappraisal, Bombay 1969, figs 127-8). By contrast with these, a manuscript of Nizamis Khamsah in the Biblioteca dellAccademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome (Eredita dellIslam: Arte islamica in Italia, a cura di Giovanni Curatola, 1993, pp. 224-5, no. 224), is clearly from a more sophisticated atelier. Its text is written in a fine nastaliq enclosed within carefully drawn gold rules and the published miniature continues the style of the two earlier manuscripts in a more refined and disciplined manner. Apart from the use of gold marginal rules these are qualities that it shares with the present manuscript. In the case of both, the employment of a scribe capable of writing in a neat, fully-developed nastaliq hand indicates a date towards the close of the fifteenth century, when refined versions of that script became more available in India. In addition to the typically Iranian calligraphic style the illustrations of the present manuscript also show an increasing degree of Iranian influence. Although a quarter of the miniatures have the banded sky convention found in the three earlier Mamluk-influenced manuscripts, an equal number have the Chinese cloud motif found in Timurid painting. At their best, the miniatures have a freshness and expressiveness not seen in the earlier group but an even clearer indication of new and rising standards of book production is evidenced by the quality and character of the illuminated medallion, the frontispiece and headings, which all show clear affinities with contemporary Timurid manuscript illumination.

Illustrations The decorated pages and miniatures are as follows (the original numbers of the miniatures precede those of the later Hindi renumbering): f. 1r. Illuminated shamsah f. 1v. Opening sarlouh and beginning of the Makhzan al-Asrar f. 2r. Opening sarlouh (left) 4/2 Faridun hunting Beginning of Khusrau wa Shirin with illuminated unwan (heading) 14/12 Khusrau & Shirin feasting after hunting & playing polo 15/13 Farhad before Khusrau 16/14 Shirin at prayer 20/18 Khusrau holds court with Barbad Beginning of Layla wa Majnun with illuminated unwan 26/24 Majnun & his father visit the Kaba 30.28 Majnun meets the hunter 32/30 Layla with Ibn Salam after their marriage 33?/? Majnun with the animals 34/31? Layla receives Majnuns letter 35/32 Salim visits Majnun 36/33 Layla visits Majnun in desert 38/35 Majnun in Laylas camp 39/36 The death of Layla 40/37 Majnun is told of Laylas death

41/38 Majnun mourns Laylas death at her tomb Haft Paykar (first page with unwan missing) 51/48 Bahram in the sandalwood pavilion of the Chinese princess Beginning of the Sharaf Nama with illuminated unwan 56/53 Iskandar makes the mirror 57/54 Iskandar on Daras throne 58/55 Daras officers punished 66/61 Iskandar & Khizr at the spring Beginning of the Iqbal Nama with illuminated unwan 68/63 Mariyeh & alchemists 67/62 Iskandar and the philosophers (this occurs later in the text despite the earlier numbering of the painting in relation to the preceding miniature)

(6292) 21

Al-Tughrais Lamiyyat, Poems ending with the letter L, with a commentary Mamluk Syria Dated Sunday 16 Rajab AH 893/ 26 June 1488 AD

Arabic manuscript on paper, foredge gilded, 39 folios each with 15 lines of naskh script in black ink, some phrases and verses in maroon and red ink, marginal notes in black ink, catchwords; vivid illuminated frontispiece, title in black ink over a knot work design in blue and two shades of gold; ownership inscriptions; very good condition. Contemporary brown morocco with central medallion, re-edged, corner pieces and borders richly tooled with gold arabesques, blue silk doublures 17.5 x 13 cm

The elegant naskh script and binding, and highly burnished paper of this Mamluk manuscript indicate that it was made for a patron of high status. Though the illuminated title-page and the binding follow classic Mamluk models, the very smooth paper and calligraphic quality of the script suggests that the manuscript may have been made in Syria rather than Egypt. The work contains the famous poem of the poet, scientist and imperial official, al-Tuhgrai, together with a commentary. One of the most renowned Islamic alchemists as well as a poet and an astronomer, al-Tughrai served as chief secretary to the Seljuk ruler Muhammad I in Isfahan. Having reached the most powerful administrative position in the empire, in 1121 AD al-Tughrai was

accused of being a heretic following his involvement in supporting the rebellion of the Masud, the brother of Sultan Mahmud. Al-Tughrais best known scientific work was his huge alchemical compendium, the Mafatih alRahmah wa-Masabih al-Hikmah, which incorporated extensive extracts from earlier Arabic alchemical writings, as well as Arabic translations from Zosimos of Panopolis, old alchemy treatises written in Greek. His poem, the Lamiyyat al-Ajam is a long complaint in the form of a qasidah about the treatment he received at the hand of his contemporaries. The Lamiyyat was the first major work of Arabic poetry to be made known in the West, published with a Latin translation by the Dutch scholar Jacobus Golius (d. 1667), in Leiden in 1629, and, again with a Latin version, by Pococke, Oxford, 1661. The Lamiyyat of the title refers to the practice of completing each line of the poem with the letter L. Tughrais verses are written in red, and followed by a commentary in black ink. A colophon at the end of the manuscript gives the date of completion as 893/ 1487-88. Handwritten notes on the opening state that the manuscript was bought by a certain Abdul-Wahab al-Husaini for 20 silver dirhams in 958/ 1551.

(13460001) 22

Jamis Haft Awrang, Seven Thrones Iran Dated AH 897 and 898/ 1491 and 1492 AD

Persian manuscript on burnished cream paper, 173 folios with 4 columns of nastaliq and naskh script in black, blue, red, and purple ink, text block ruled in gold frame, 5 illuminated headings in white Kufic script set in gold cartouche on blue background with floral scrolls, later lacquer binding and doublures with floral decoration on red background, excellent condition 24.8 x 17 cm

This delicately written work was completed in the year of Jamis death, 1492. Dedications to Jami within the work indicate that he was still alive at the time of completion, as the usual phrase of salama allah alayhu wa salma which is used after the death of a venerated person is not written after his name. The present work contains five of the seven stories in the Haft Awrang: The execution of the manuscript, which is of the greatest refinement, contains five beautifully illuminated headings, each of a different style, is characteristic of Timurid manuscript decoration; the fine, evenly spaced nastaliq hand is typical for which calligraphers of this period were so renowned. Jami, the great Persian poet, was born in Jam, Herat, on 23 Shaaban 817/7 November 1414. He died at Herat on 18 Muharram 898/9 November 1492. During his studies, he became deeply passionate about Sufi mysticism, and became a student of Sad al-Din Muhammad al-Kaysari, the successor to the great saint Baha al-Din Naqshband, founder of the order of the Naqshbandis. Jami remained in Herat for

the majority of his life, leading a peaceful life of study, poetry, and spiritual exercises. He was honoured by several emperors, including the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II the Conqueror (r. 1451-1481), who attempted to persuade him to live in Istanbul, and the founder of the Mughal Dynasty Babur (r. 15261530), who proclaimed Jami to be the greatest poet of all time. (H. Masse, Djami, EI2) Jamis writings, which are great in both number and diversity, display a unique depth of knowledge, as well as a genius for language and style. He wrote in prose as well as in poetry, but it is for the latter which he gained most fame. One of his better known poetic works consisted of seven mathnavis, assembled under the title Haft Awrang (the seven thrones).

(11994) 23

On Grammar, al-Tasrih bi Madmun al-Tawdih By Khalid Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Abi Bakr al-Azhari North Africa AH 896/ 1490-91 AD

Arabic manuscript on paper, 278 folios, 30 lines of black and red maghribi script to the page, chapter headings in black, green and red outlined in colours, later brown morocco stamped binding 25.8 x 19 cm

Al-Azhari (d. 1499), the author of this work, was the most famous grammarian of the late fifteenth century, and the present manuscript was copied in his lifetime. Born in Jarja in Upper Egypt, he wrote such famous works on grammar as al-Muqadimma al-Azhariyya fi ilm al-Arabiyya, as well as commentaries on famous works of prose such as the Qasidah al-Burda of al-Busiri. This is an excellent copy of one of al-Azharis most celebrated works, written in his lifetime. It is his response to Ibn Hishams commentary on the Alfiyya of Ibn Malik. Ibn Malik was born in Jaen, Spain, circa 600/1204, but left Spain for the Near East and became a Shafii scholar in Syria. He was a teacher of Arabic language and literature in major centres of learning such as Aleppo and Hama, before finally settling in Damascus, where he became senior master at the Adiliyya Madrasa, teaching hadith, lexicography, grammar, jurisprudence, and Quran recitation. Before his death in 672/1274 he passed his most productive years in Damascus, where he gained a reputation in Arabic literature. Ibn Malik gained fame for his versification of textbooks in poetic form, and became particularly renowned with the completion of his al-Khulasa al-Alfiyya, a versification of Arabic grammar in the form of a poem of about 1000 lines. At least 43 commentaries have been written on his work, one of which is al-Azharis al-Tasrih bi Madmun al-Tawdih.

Arabic grammar, which has its roots in the language of the Quran and in the pre-Islamic poetry of Arabia, was considered to be a science in its own right, developing along with law, medicine and philosophy. First codified in two seminal works during the eighth century AD, Arabic grammar was soon divided into several schools of thought, which continued to flourish, particularly in Baghdad, throughout the following centuries. The expense of producing a manuscript such as the present copy, transcribed in a precisely rendered hand and copied on beautiful, glossy paper with ornamental headings, strongly suggests that it was a prestige copy. As it was completed during the lifetime of the author, it is possible that it was copied by a student of the author, perhaps for al-Azhari himself.

(5954) 24

From the libraries of 3 Mughal Emperors

Fakhr al-Din Ali, better known as Safi Eastern Iran Early 16th century

Rashahat Ayn al-Hayat, The Drops of the Spring of Life

Persian manuscript on paper, 147 folios, each with 23 lines of clear nastaliq script in black ink, some words and phrases in red ink, in a gold frame outlined in blue; marginal notes, some framed in gold; illuminated title-page, panel in gold with gold arabesques, original blue infilling still visible; on endpapers, some restoration, folios 2-5 re-written later, worm holing on margins, in a red leather binding tooled with central medallion and corner pieces. 16.5 x 25 cm

This manuscript was in the library of three successive Mughal emperors, and its provenance is exceptionally well documented, with 28 seal impressions and handwritten notes detailing Mughal court provenance. It carries the distinctive twelve-lobed seal impression of Hamida Banu, otherwise known as Maryam Makani, mother of the Emperor Akbar: this is dated 957/ 1550-1. On 23 September 1603 AD it passed into Akbars library, and was annotated by his librarian, Mulla Ali. Subsequently it was annotated by Itimad al-Dawlah, librarian to Jahangir, and occasions on which the emperor looked at the book were recorded (4 May 1611 AD; 29 November 1620 AD). Shah Jahan examined the book in 1632-3 AD, and his successor, Emperor Aurangzeb, was responsible for an ownership inscription on f. 147v, dated 1662, recording that he received the book from his fathers library. Altogether, the manuscript provides us with a clear chronological record amounting to a complete case-study in the history of the book in the Mughal period. There are seal impressions, some individual, some official and handwritten notes, which establish a detailed picture of when and by whom this book was seen. In the eighteenth century it passed out of the library and

in 1854 was bought from a retailer by an individual, possibly a certain Abbas whose seal appears twice in the manuscript. The text itself was composed in 909/ 1503-04, and this date appears as a chronogram at the end of the manuscript. The author, Fakhr al-Din Ali, known as-Safi, was born in Sabzawar and brought up in Herat; his mother was sister of the celebrated mystical poet Jami. Safi was attracted to the Sufi sect of Naqshbandis and travelled to Samarqand to study with them, and the work evolved, according to Brockelmann, from notes made on visits between December 1484 and April 1488 (Geschichte der Arabischen Literatur S II, Leiden 1942, p. 287). Of all the members of the extended imperial family it is Akbars mother, Hamida Banu Begam (later known as Maryam-Makani) whose name appears most frequently in seals and inscriptions on manuscripts in the Mughal library. The dates featured in her two seals, 957 [1550 1] and 968 [1560-1] testify that her activity as a collector began as early as the initial years of the Mughal reconquest of India under her husband, Humayun. (J. Seyller, The Inspection and Valuation of Manuscripts in the Imperial Mughal Library, in Artibus Asiae, vol. 62, Washington DC, 1997, p.253).

(12974) 25

A Collection of Compositions Copied by Ikhtiyar al-Munshi Eastern Iran, Herat Dated Rabi al-Thani AH [9]14/ August 1508 AD

Persian manuscript on paper, 12 folios plus 2 fly-leaves, each with 4 lines of elegant blue, red, gold and black shikasteh taliq arranged with double rules between each line, gold and polychrome rules and double black outer rules, colophon signed al-Munshi and dated Rabi' al-Thani [9]14, some staining and spotting, in worn brown morocco covers 18 x 12.2 cm

The bold and fluid shikasteh calligraphy displayed in this album is the work of Khwaja Ikhtiyar alMunshi, the most famous calligrapher of the style known as shikasteh taliq. A native of Herat, he composed the correspondences of Sultan Khudabanda (d. 1595), son of Shah Tahmasp, who was the Governor of Khurasan (Qazi Mir Ahmad Munshi Qomi, Golestan-e Honar, ed. A. Soheyli-Khwansari, Tehran, 1352, p. 49 and V. Minorsky, Calligraphers and Painters, A Treatise by Qadi Ahmed son of MirMunshi, Washington, 1959, p. 91). Few dated calligraphic pieces by Ikhtiyar al-Munshi exist, and the present manuscript, which pre-dates Ikhtiyar al-Munshis services at the court of the Shah Tahmasp where he was employed for thirty years, may be one of the earliest examples of his work. Ikhtiyar al-Munshi was the laqab (nickname) of Kamal al-Din Husayn (d. 974/ 1566-7). He was the respected personal secretary of the Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524-76), who patronized the calligraphers work in Tabriz, and conferred upon him the honorific title the Elderly, Royal Secretary (Ikhtiyar al-Munshi al-Sultani). Although blind in one eye, he was nevertheless a master of all calligraphic scripts, excelling particularly in the epistolary scripts (scripts used for writing letters) of nastaliq and shikasteh taliq (see C. Huart, Les calligraphes et les miniaturistes de l'Orient musulman, 1972, p. 232). The calligraphers signature appears in blue ink along with the date as the last line on the final folio. It reads: al-abd al-daif ikhtiyar al-munshi, or the humble slave, the elderly secretary.

(13568) 26

A fully illuminated manuscript from Mecca

Al-Busiris al-Kawakib al-Duriyya, or Qasidah al-Burda, the Poem of the Mantle Mecca Dated AH 938/ 1531 AD

Arabic manuscript on cream paper, 32 folios, first, fifth and ninth lines of each page written in bold muhaqqaq script in black ink, surrounded by diagonal lines in thuluth script contained in hexagonal boxes, intercolumnar double rules in red, text interspersed with large rectangular decorations in various colours, set in red and blue ruled frame, large illuminated rosettes on final folio surrounding colophon, catchwords in gold, polychrome illuminated title-page with a lobed shamsa incorporating the full name of the author, brown morocco with stamped paper overlay decorated with floral motifs, with flap, excellent condition 29.8 x 21 cm

This is a beautifully presented, and lavishly decorated copy of one of the most famous panegyrics of the Prophet Muhammad, the Qasidah al-Burda, composed by the renowned and celebrated spiritual poet Abu Abdallah Muhammad Ibn Said al-Busiri (d. 1274 AD). Al-Busiri is alleged to have composed this poem after suffering from partial paralysis, and when the Prophet appeared to him in a dream, he was cured by the Prophets mantle, which had been thrown over his shoulder. This miraculous event rapidly gained fame, and as a response, al-Busiri composed this poem, entitled alKawakib al-Durriyya fi madh Shayr al-Barriyya, which popularly became known as the Qasidah al-Burda, or the Poem of the Mantle.

The present example of al-Busiris famous work was completed in Mecca towards the end of the Mamluk Empire. Every single page is decorated in different colours, and the opening and closing illuminations show characteristic styles of Muzaffarid, Timurid, Mamluk and early Ottoman decoration. The lobed shamsah containing the colophon on the last folio is typical of fourteenth century Muzaffarid manuscript decoration, while the large, bold muhaqqaq script and the gold rosettes are a common feature in Mamluk manuscripts. The rectangular devices separating the smaller diagonal naskh columns, rendered in different colours for every double-page spread, are reminiscent of the Timurid and early Ottoman decorated motifs encountered in manuscripts of this period. Dated decorated manuscripts of as high a quality as the present which can be firmly placed in Mecca have survived only in small numbers. The Qasidah al-Burda has engendered significant spiritual popularity to the present day; venerated by Muslims across the world, the verses of the Qasidah are today still recited at burials and in lamentations for the dead. Also believed to have protective powers, verses from the poem are used for talismanic purposes as charms and amulets. Its unequalled fame has rendered it the subject of more than ninety commentaries written in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Berber languages. The Qasidah al-Burda is divided into 10 chapters and 160 verses: On Lyrical Love Yearning On Warnings about the Caprices of the Self On the Praise of the Prophet On his Birth On his Miracles On the Exalted Stature and Miraculous Merits of the Quran

On the Ascension of the Prophet On the Chivalrous Struggle of Allahs Messenger On Seeking Intercession through the Prophet On Intimate Discourse and the Petition of Ones State In the style of ancient Arabian poetry, the composition begins with a nasib, a romantic prologue commonly found in qasidah poetry. This is followed by a confession of the authors multitude of faults, and his lament at a misspent youth. The main body of the text consists of verses relating the miracles of the Prophet according to hadith, to which the author compares his own insignificant achievements, ending with a prayer to Muhammad and several elegiac verses. Although known as one of the great Sufi mystical poets of the time, al-Busiris Burda does not reflect any overt Sufi beliefs. (R. Basset, Burda, EI2). Al-Busiri was born in Egypt, of Berber descent, in Abusir or Dilas, around the year 1212 AD. His patron was Ibn Hinna, a vizier under the famous Mamluk Sultan Baybars (r. 1260-1277 AD), who released him from prison upon learning of al-Busiris gift for religious poetry. Al-Busiris works were mainly religious, of which the Burda became his most famous composition. He died in Alexandria in 1294 or 1295 AD.

(11367001) 27

Ibn Zafars The Mirror for Princes North Africa 16th century
Arabic manuscript on paper, 75 folios, final folio lacking, 17 lines of black naskh script to the page, titles and keywords in red, brown morocco binding with later paper covers and doublures 20.5 x 14.3 cm

The present manuscript, Ibn Zafar al-Siqillis Kitab Sulwan al-Muta fi Udwan al-Atba (Consolation for the Ruler in facing the Adversity of his Subjects) is a North African copy of one of the most intriguing medieval Arabic mirrors for princes. According to most sources, the author, Abu Abdallah Ibn Zafar al-Siqilli was born in Norman Sicily in 497/1104, and travelled extensively in the Islamic world, before settling in Hamat, Syria, where he died in 1170. The Sulwan al-Muta is the best-known of his works, and provides an entertaining and cynical analysis of power and the ways by which it can be maintained. Much of the advice is in the form of animal fables in the style of the Kalila wa Dimna, from which Ibn Zafar borrowed extensively (see Robert Irwin, The Arabic Beast Fable, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 55, 1992, pp. 36-50). The Sulwan al-Muta is often considered to be the precursor of the famous political treatise by the Florentine public servant and political theorist, Niccol Machiavelli, The Prince, completed in 1513. Ibn Zafars work later came to the attention of European scholars and readers when it was translated into Italian by the Sicilian Arabist Michele Amari in 1851.

The introduction of this interesting work makes several references to the writings of Aristotle as a model for guidance to princes. During Alexander the Greats wars in Persia, Aristotle composed a treatise of statesmanship as a guide for the great Macedonian conqueror. Ibn Zafar compiled his work during a time when political theory was at its height in Islamic political thought, and the work may have drawn from a work of Aristotle, written as a manual of advice for Alexander the Great. Similar works of advice to rulers include the Sirr al-Asrar (Secret of Secrets), a work of disputed origin being a guide to kings and rulers purported to have been written by Aristotle for Alexander the Great. It was a popular and influential work during the High Middle Ages in Europe, where it was known as Secretum Secretorum, and was subsequently translated into a variety of vernacular languages. Subjects in this treatise ranged from ethical questions facing a ruler to astrology, the magical/medical properties of plants, gems, numbers, and a metaphysical account of science. Such political and moral treatises, masquerading as animal fables, existed in earlier times in the form of Aesops Fables, which were later adapted in works such as the Hindu Panchatantra, or the Fables of Bidpai. The manuscript is in an idiosyncratic naskh hand that was occasionally used in the Maghrib. A western Islamic provenance is confirmed by marginal notes in a Maghribi hand. The watermarked paper is of sixteenth or perhaps seventeenth century European manufacture.

(12960) 28

Al-Birjandis Sharh al-Tadhkira (Commentary on Nasir al-Din al-Tusis al-Tadhkira fi Ilm alHaya, a treatise on astronomy and mathematics) Iran 16th century

Persian manuscript on paper, 18 folios with 31 lines of black naskh, some phrases underlined in red, copious marginal notes, some diagrams, in brown morocco binding, some missing pages, illuminated gold medallion on opening folio, page missing before the last folio 25.5 x 17.7 cm

Sharh al-Tadhkira is a commentary on a work of astronomy by one of the most prominent intellectual figures of medieval Islam, Nasir al-Din al-Tusis (d. 673/ 1274) al-Tadhkira fi Ilm al-Haya (Memoir of Astronomy). The commentary was first composed by Abd al-Ali al-Birjandi (d. 934/ 1528) in 913/ 1507, a prominent sixteenth century astronomer, mathematician and physicist who lived in Birjand, Iran. One of his main works was Risalat-i Abad u Adjram (Treatise on distances and bodies), which discusses, among other things, the measurements of the earths surface and of the heavens and stars. This work was also translated into Sanskrit in the first quarter of the eighteenth century. Al-Tusis extensive writings, numbering over 150 works, included works on philosophy, theology, mathematics, physics and astronomy. After completing his formal education, al-Tusi found patrons at Ismaili courts in Persia beginning sometime in the 620s/ 1220s. After completing his education in the 620s/1220s, al-Tusi stayed in Quhistan and at the Ismaili fortress of Alamut, his patrons being

prominent figures of the Ismaili courts in Persia. Some of his most important scientific and philosophical works were composed during this time, and after the fall of Alamut to the Mongols, he joined the Ilkhanid court. As court astrologer to Hulegu, and director of religious endowments (awqaf), he oversaw the construction of an astronomical observatory in Maragha, the Ilkhanid headquarters of Azerbaijan. The observatory, which also housed a large library as well as a school, became renowned as one of the most advanced scientific institutions of its time, despite its short-lived existence of less than a century. Al-Tusi wrote in both Arabic and Persian, his most enduring achievement being his revival of Greek and early Islamic scientific works. His greatest fame, however, lay in his accomplishments in astronomy; although his elementary treatises on practical astronomy (taqwim), instruments, astrology, and cosmography became major works of focus for students of astronomy during centuries to come, alTusis most original ideas were in planetary theory, in particular dealing with the problems of the inconsistencies of the Ptolemaic systems theories on planetary movement, which, according to many Islamic astronomers, violated the fundamental physical principle of uniform circular motion. Devising a model using a small sphere which was internally tangent to a larger sphere, al-Tusi maintained the basic principles of the Ptolemaic system, while also solving the problem of maintaining uniform circular motion. These ideas were first introduced in a treatise in Persian called Hall-i Mushkilat-i Muniyya, and further developed in his Arabic work, al-Tadhkira fiilm al-haya (Memoir of Astronomy). His theories remained influential for the next three or four hundred years, where many later medieval Islamic scientists continued to attempt to reform the Ptolemaic system using al-Tusis ideas as a model. (H. Daiber & F.J. Ragep, al-Tusi, Nasir al-Din, Abu Djafar Muhammad, EI2.)

(12951) 29

Firdausis Shahnama, The Book of Kings Western Iran Late 15th or early 16th century

Persian manuscript on cream-coloured paper, 625 leaves, a few leaves lacking, 22 lines to the page written in four columns of nasta'liq script in black ink by more than one scribe, double intercolumnar rules in gold, catchwords in wide margins, heading in red nasta'liq, some panels left blank, margins ruled in blue and gold, one illuminated double-page frontispiece in colours and gold, some repairs, slightly browned, black shagreen 34.4 x 24.5 cm

The beautiful illuminated double-page opening of this large Shahnama, with its striking bright blue, red and gold colours, as well as the shape and size, is characteristic of the Turkman style of manuscript decoration of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century Persia. The decorative style is reminiscent of that produced in main centres of manuscript production such as Shiraz, where the Turkman style flourished from circa 1480 to 1510 after the conquest of western Persia and the defeat of the Timurids. The gold fleshy lobes and half-lobes decorating the central margins of the frontispiece are common for early sixteenth century Safavid work but also appear in late fifteenth century Ottoman Qurans, giving emphasis to the hybrid artistic form that developed during this area and period. (See D. James, After Timur, Qurans of the 15th and 16th centuries, London 1992, cat. no. 23, pp. 96-97). The elegant, precise and freely executed nastaliq hand is of a very high calibre, and is worthy of comparison to the calligraphy in superior quality manuscripts produced for the high-ranking members of society and the royal Turkman court. The Shahnama is a work in 60,000 couplets which tells the history of Persia from its mythical origins to the Muslim conquest. It was written in about 1010 AD by one of the greatest Persian poets, Hakim Abul-Qasim Firdausi, based on an earlier work by the poet Daqiqi (d. circa 980 AD). The work took 35 years to complete, and was presented to the Sultan Mahmud of Ghazneh, one of the rulers who revived

Persian independence after centuries of Arab rule. Beautifully presented, the present copy most likely belongs to a group of contemporary truncated Shahnama manuscripts which were originally not illustrated. The preface in this copy, which was first written by Abu Mansur Ibn Ahmad al-Muammari (d. 962 AD), the Lord of Tus, who first commissioned the translation of the earlier Shahnama from Pahlavi into Persian, would originally have preceded the illuminated frontispiece, but was in the present manuscript placed at the end, perhaps when it was rebound in its new covers. For similar styles of illumination of the same period, see After Timur, cat. no. 16, pp. 66-67; cat. no. 30, pp. 116-117; cat. no. 38, pp. 142-143.

(7359) 30

Jam-i Jam, The Cup of Jamshid

By Rukn al-Din Awhadi Maraghi Isfahani Copied by Naim al-Din Ahmad al-Awhad al-Husayni Iran AH 951/ 1544 AD

Persian manuscript on polished paper, 106 folios, 14 lines of elegant black nastaliq, in two columns, titles in blue and gold, ruled in gold, red and blue, with catchwords. Double illuminated frontispiece, 5 lines of black nastaliq on a gold ground, decorated with polychrome leaves, within a border of gold and blue extending into the outer margin, with polychrome arabesques and leafy sprays. Slight staining and some repairs confined to margin, but generally in very good condition. Later red morocco binding, blue marbled paper doublures 21.4 x 12 cm

The title of Awhadis most famous poem, the mystical Jam-i Jam, refers to the cup of the Persian emperor Jamshid, which was said to have enabled the emperor to see the entire universe. In the Persian poetic tradition this became an allegory for mystical knowledge the mystic beholds not his own reflection in the cup, but that of his beloved, in whose identity his own is entirely subsumed. The work is modelled on the Hadiqat al-Haqiqa of the eleventh-twelfth century Persian poet Majdud Ibn Ghanam al-Ghaznawi Sanai, containing all sorts of ethical and moral advice, and concluding with a chapter on the mystical path. Though his poem was famous throughout the Persian and Turkish speaking world, little is known about Awhadis life. He was born circa 1280-81 in Maragha in Azerbayjan, which was then under the rule of the Mongol Ilkhans, and was the pupil of the Sufi master Shaykh Awhad al-Din of Kirman. The Jam-i Jam is by far the best known and most highly praised work from his poetic output. The text was composed in 733/ 1332-3, some five years before the authors death in 738/ 1338.

(12958) 31

A Decorated Almanac made for Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

Almanac written by Sayyid Ahmed Ibn Mustafa, known as Lali Made for Sultan Suleyman I (r. 1520-1566), and presented to his son Selim II upon his accession in AH 975/ 1566 AD Istanbul Dated AH 963/ 1555 AD and AH 975/ 1566 AD With numerous astrological and calendrical drawings

Arabic and Turkish manuscript on paper, 34 folios with 29 lines of black naskh script to the page, 9 diagrams, 10 astrological lists, 12 double-page calendric tables, in dark brown binding with central tooled cartouche 26.7 x 16.5 cm

This lavishly illuminated almanac was written for Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent in the final decade of his reign. It was composed by the chief court astrologer known as Lali, and completed and presented to his successor Selim II upon his accession in 1566. On f. 23 there is a pictorial diagram with a colophon by the author. It states that the manuscript ..in this year of hijra 963 (1555 AD), this magnificent chart was invented and presented. On the opening page, however, the author records that though he had composed the text for Suleyman the Magnificent, it was to be presented to his son Selim II on his accession to the throne: Say the words from your heart and pray for and praise Shah Selim Han faithfully, God transferred onto him the state of Suleyman seeing he was worthy of it..Alas, I would have given it to Sultan Suleyman Han, to the one who one owned the seal of Solomon..so it became an enthronement gift for his son. The author continues by stating the exact date (given in Persian) which this work was presented to Selim II: nukh-sad panj haftad, or 975/ 1566-67, the year of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificents death and his son Selim IIs accession. This is followed by the most effective medical prescriptions provided by the author, which he claims to have compiled through a lengthy study of all medical books. Almanacs such as this were rarely produced for anyone outside the royal court. Containing a number of tables and astronomical illustrations, it is comparable in style and execution to a small number of late fifteenth century examples produced for the royal courts, and now in the Topkapi Palace Museum Library (Ms B 309 and Ms R 1711). The decoration of the manuscript is characteristic of that produced in Suleymanss court. The vase on the colophon page, for instance, contains a series of delicately rendered pink carnations. Similar carnations decorate the opening illumination of a collection of 40 hadith, dated 1543 AD, located in the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul; they also appear on the exquisite lacquer binding of that example (M. Rogers & R. M. Ward, Sleyman the Magnificent, London, 1988, cat. no. 24a-b, pp. 80-81.

Ottoman Calendars and Almanacs Until the sixteenth century, calendars and almanacs were on occasion produced for the Ottoman court by astronomers who presented these to the Sultan for inspection; but it was not until the beginning of the sixteenth century that these were produced regularly. It was during this period that the royal court established the office of the munajjim, who were both astronomers and astrologers. Their purpose was to draw up the calendar each year before submitting it to the Sultan and grand vizier for review. These calendars and almanacs usually consisted of several parts, depending on their purpose: calendars were either produced for a certain year or designed to be used in perpetuam. Such imperial almanacs were usually presented to the Sultan on March 21, the first day of the calendar year. Following the dedication and the medical prescriptions for the Sultan, the second part of this almanac contains the calendar and related subjects. Beginning with an explanation of the calculation of Rumi and Hijri calendar dates, it continues with detailed charts in which predictions are made according to specific characteristics of the physical body in relation to certain star signs; for example, if the left side of an individuals head feels strange under a Virgo influence, it means that happiness will arrive to this individual. This type of fortune reading continues with a series of charts explaining predictions according to specific events under certain influences, for example, if a cat appears in front of an individuals door under a Virgo influence, it signifies that news is on the way. The following section consists of the calendar itself. Usually, this contained one page dedicated to each of the twelve months, in table format, but in the present copy, these have been allocated greater importance as two pages have been dedicated to each month, the reason perhaps being that the calendar was produced for the sultan on a special occasion. The calendar is preceded by information taken from the Ruznama of Mustafa Ibn Ahmad, known as Sheikh Vefa (d. 1491 AD), displayed in table format on f. 11r. A celebrated Sufi scholar with a strong interest in astronomy, he was one of the most renowned individuals associated with the development of the Ruznama, or calendar. It consists of various tables, including conversions for calendars and regulating the times of prayer; these are displayed on the page facing the calendar for each month. The days of the month are calculated by the abjad system, where each letter of the alphabet is given a numerical value. The tables shown here include both the corresponding Rumi (the Syro-Arab version of the Julian calendar, based on the solar calendar) and Muslim dates. This would usually begin with Nawruz, the first day of the year, corresponding to the vernal equinox of March 21. The diagram on f. 23v contains a circle divided into the 12 months of the Islamic calendar, each month which contains a nujumi (astral) or shari (canonical) aspect. Below the nujumi sectors are further sectors containing eight letters, each indicating the number of stars belonging to the respective month. Below the shari sector are designated the auspicious days of that month. The letters written in red ink represent a period when the stars appear in conjunction with a religious or auspicious event. The final part of this unique almanac is concerned with astronomical and astrological calculations, predictions based on the sun, moon, stars and seasons, and lunar and solar eclipses. In the present example, there are sections relating to the phases of the sun and moon (f. 27a), the moon and planetary alignment (f. 27b), the eastern and western hemispheres showing the signs of the zodiac and the significance of their influence depending on the direction of the rainbow (f. 28b), the months and the phases of the moon (f. 29a), the hours of the day in which to complete certain tasks (f. 30a), the stars and the relationship between the stars and the hours (ff. 31b & 32a).

(12955) 32

The Negaristan by Ibn Kamal al-Wazir Pashazade Ottoman Turkey Dated AH 962/ 1554 AD

Persian manuscript on paper, 320 folios, 15 lines of black nastaliq per page, certain words highlighted in red, opening illumination in gold, blue with floral motifs, an early stamped brown morocco binding 16.5 x 10.5 cm

This is one of the earliest copies of the Ottoman version of the Negaristan, a collection of historical accounts of celebrated men from the time of Nizar Ibn Maad Ibn Adnan, a pre-Islamic ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia, to the time of the author. The work contains 330 historical anecdotes, arranged according to dynasty, and was originally dedicated to the Timurid ruler Shah Tahmasp. This work was composed by Kamal Pashazade (1468-1534), an Ottoman poet and one of the most important intellectuals of the sixteenth century. His most notable work in Persian was the Negaristan, a composition of prose and verse in imitation of the poetic style of Sadis Gulistan, which he completed in 1533 AD. In 1526, he was appointed to the highest rank of office as shaykh ul-islam, in which he remained until his death in 1534.

The almond-shaped seal on the last page is a badami seal, usually reserved for princes and sultans. It is inscribed al-faqir Mustafa Ibn Jaffer, al-wathaqa bil mulk al-akbar, suggesting it belonged to the head of documents in the imperial Ottoman library. The seal stems from the same school of seals used by the Ottoman sultans Bayezid II and his father Mehmet III. An interesting inscription on the front page provides the present manuscript with an extremely valuable provenance: This book once belonged to Chelebizadeh Ismail Asim, year of 1165 (AH). Chelebizadeh Ismail Asim (circa 1685-1760) was not only the court historian of Ahmed III between 1722 and 1730, but also a famous poet, and held during his career such high official positions as qadi (chief judge) of Bursa (1152-53/ 1738-39), Medina (1157-58/ 1744-45), and Istanbul (1161-62/ 174849), as well as holding the position of qadi asker (one of the only two highest ranking qadis of the Ottoman judiciary). Before his death in 1759, he attained the ultimate ranking of shaykh ul-islam. Apart from being known as the court historian, Chelebizadeh Ismail Asim is most well-known for his diwan, often considered to be one of the masterpieces of Ottoman diwan poetry of this period (Walsh, J.R., Celebi-zade, EI2)

(12683) 33

Selections from the Guy u Chaugan (Ball and Mallet), or Book of Ecstasy by Arifi Copied by Muhammad Husayn al-Husayni Eastern Iran, probably Herat Dated Jumada al-Awwal AH 965/February-March 1557 AD

Persian manuscript on gold-speckled cream paper, 14 folios and 2 fly-leaves, each folio with 12 lines of elegant black nastaliq arranged in two columns with double gold intercolumnar rule, catchwords, headings in white nastaliq in gold cartouches within panels of gold and polychrome illumination. The frontispiece contains a similarly illuminated headpiece, and the colophon is signed Muhammad Husayn al-Husayni and dated Jumada al-Awwal AH 965. The text panels are laid down within gold and polychrome rules on variously coloured paper with gold floral illumination; some folios are coming out of the binding, and there is some water staining and soiling, particularly in the margins. The manuscript has minor repairs, and a later red morocco binding covered with paper. 21 x 15 cm

This richly decorated manuscript contains a selection of poetry from the Guy u Chaugan (Ball and Mallet), or the Book of Ecstasy, also known as the Halnameh, by the Persian poet and author Arifi (active fifteenth century). This present manuscript is an early work by the celebrated scribe Muhammad Husayn al-Husayni. Other recorded works by him include a Yusuf va Zulaikha in the Bibliothque nationale copied in 1570 (B.N. Supp. Pers. 561) and another Halnameh, dated 1573, now in the New York Public Library (Pers. Ms. 53; see J. Thompson & S. Canby, Hunt for Paradise: Court Arts of Safavid Iran, 1501-1576, Milan, 2004, p. 64). A further work attributed to him is an abridged copy of a Khamsa of Nizami, copied in Qazvin in

982/1574-75. That manuscript is now located in the Topkapi Museum (F.E. Karatay and J.M. Rogers, Topkapi Sarayi Muzesi Kutuphanesi, Farsca Yazmalar Katalogu, Istanbul, 1961, cat. no. 483). Muhammad Husayn al-Husayni worked in both Qazvin and Herat, and the scrolling lotus leaf-style illumination surrounding the illuminated heading suggests perhaps that this manuscript was also produced in Herat. Although al-Husayni was not a scribe of the royal Safavid scriptoria, the quality of his work parallels that of the finest royal scribes working during this period. The influence of the Timurid tradition of manuscript decoration, which survived into later periods in this part of Iran, can be clearly seen in the illumination: the pronounced use of black and orange pigments, in addition to the shape of the illuminated cartouche, are characteristic of the Timurid style of the Bukharan and Khurasani regions. Of additional interest is the binding, which consists of high quality Turkish marbled paper. An Ottoman provenance for this manuscript is further attested to by an eighteenth century Ottoman cipher speckled with gold reminiscent to a miniature style tughra, or royal signature, on f. 1r.

(12959) 34

With borders of flowers and plants by Suleyman the Magnificents court painter
A Book of Verse Decorated by Kara Memi (fl. 1545-66) Istanbul Circa 1565 AD
Chagatay Turkish manuscript on paper, 72 folios mostly with 13 lines of fine black nastaliq set within ruled gold borders, each border decorated in gold with a variety of flowers and plants, some also with stencil decoration. The remains of an illuminated frontispiece (f. 1) and probably incomplete at the end. Losses to the sides of a few pages and with staining of many pages throughout. Loose in gatherings without binding and preserved in a portfolio 17.7 x 12.7 cm

The decoration of the borders of this exquisite small book is the work of Kara Memi (fl. 1545-1566), the most celebrated artist of the Ottoman Court under Suleyman the Magnificient and the chief of the palace painting workshop. Previously unknown, the manuscript has been studied by Dr Nurhan Atasoy, who demonstrates that it can be seen as a study or trial for Kara Memis masterpiece; the Divan-i Muhibbi, Suleymans collected poems presented in the Istanbul University Library. First mentioned on a payroll register dated 1545, Kara Memi rose quickly so that by the early 1550s his wages for Quran illumination were the highest given to any artist working on manuscripts commissioned by the Suleymaniye Mosque; by 1557-8 he was head painter. In 1566 he signed the decoration in

Suleymans Divan-i Muhibbi. Both Kara Memi and his patron the Sultan died later that year. A second copy of the Divan-i Muhibbi written also by the same scribe, dated 1566, and including verses written by Sultan Suleyman himself is in the Topkapi Library. Though unsigned the decoration of the Topkapi manuscript is certainly also by Kara Memi and his team. In these manuscripts the wide margins are decorated in gold and wash with each page or double-page treated as a composition. Smaller motifs in the area between the calligraphy are painted with gold and stronger colours. The fact that these flower motifs are in a new style is very important as almost for the first time traditional themes such as split leaves and lotus blossoms are combined with naturalistic sprays of flowers and leaves. This is the new naturalism which quickly spread to other court arts, textiles, metalwork and to Iznik tiles, which defined Ottoman art for centuries. It comes from the time when interest in horticulture was at its peak at Suleyman Court and many gardens were created. These three manuscripts: the Istanbul University and Topkapi Divan-i Muhibbi and the present Book of Verses can be seen together as a progression. In each case the etvel, the layout of the page and the decoration of the margins were executed first, with the calligraphy added last and perhaps somewhat later. The decoration is uniform in style and executed by Kara Memi and members of his workshop. The Istanbul University copy is the most finished with the most refined and balanced compositions. In the Topkapi copy the individual motifs are the same but more freely executed. Different flowers which are formalised into bunches in the University manuscript appear separate in the earlier book. The Topkapi copy has been seen as a draft or study version of the later book and the present Book of Verses must be seen as the earliest of the three with Kara Memi and his team working still more loosely and with plainer less elaborate motifs. The texts are written in several hands, not all expert. The verses are by mostly contemporary poets at the Ottoman Court. An extended analysis of the decorated pages and the relation between this and the Divan-i Muhibbi is available on request. Bibliography Nurhan Atasoy, A Garden for the Sultan: Gardens and Flowers in the Ottoman Culture, Istanbul, 2002 A. Suhely Unver, Muzehhip Karamemi, (Istanbul, 1951) Mujgan Cunbur, Kanuni Suleymanin basmuzehhibi Karamemi, Onasya, vol. II, No. 23, (Ankara, 1967) Fehmi Ethem Karatay, Turkce Yazmalar Katalogu, vol. II, cat no. 2330, (Istanbul, 1961), pp. 120-121 Fehmi Ethem Karatay, Farsca Yazmalar Katalogu, cat no. 785, (Istanbul, 1961), pp. 271-272 Yildiz Demiriz, Osmanli Kitap Sanatinda Naturalist Uslupta Cicekler, (Istanbul, 1986), pp. 168-180; 278-303

(12957) 35

Illustrated Astronomical Treatise Copied by Jamal al-Din Ibn Ismail Ibn Assam al-Din Mecca Dated Saturday 4 Dhul Hijja AH 976/ 21 May 1569 AD

Persian and Arabic manuscript on paper, 63 folios, 17 lines of black naskh script to the page, copious marginal notes and drawings, in later marbled cardboard binding 16 x 10.1 cm

This is an illustrated compilation of works and theories on mathematics and astronomy, referring to the work of the famous medieval Islamic scientist, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (d. 1274). It consists of two short opening chapters explaining the measurement of surface area using geometric formulas, then two longer additional treatises on the stars, planets and planetary motion. Subjects covered include the calculation of sunset and sunrise, the size of the earth, the moon and distance to it, and the distance between the sun and the planets. Further sections are devoted to the static planets, the movement of the spheres and eclipses. The work is illustrated with a number of finely executed explanatory drawings including geometric shapes, stars, planets, their relationship to earth, and the planetary motions.

Copious notes exist in the margins, and are commentaries and additional notes on the main text, and include references to the work of al-Tusi. Astronomy was one of the most important subjects in medieval Islamic science. As daily life centred on the times of prayer and the sighting of the moon, it was imperative for medieval scholars to understand the relationship between the earth, the sun, the moon and planetary motion in order to calculate effectively the time of day and the days of the month. Islamic astronomy was based heavily on the classical and pre-Islamic traditions, and major works on astronomy, including that of Nasir al-Din alTusi, used the works of classical scholars, such as Ptolemys Almagest, as a basis for study. The neat personal hand in the present example, which on occasion includes words and sentences that have been crossed out, indicates that this copy was written by an astronomer for his personal benefit. In addition, the small, portable format suggests that this manuscript was designed to be easily transported in a pouch or pocket for easy reference. An inscription on the final folio states that this manuscript was copied by Jamal al-Din Ibn Ismail Ibn Assam al-Din, in Mecca, during the night of Saturday, on 4 Dhul Hijja 976, which corresponds to 21 May, 1569.

(7484) 36

Timurnama, The History of Timur by Abdallah Hatifi

Eastern Iran, Herat, Dar al-Sultanah Dated AH 977/ 1569 AD

Persian manuscript on gold-sprinkled paper, 137 leaves, 14 lines to the page written in two columns of elegant nastaliq script, double intercolumnar rules in gold, margins ruled in colours and gold, catchwords in wide margins, one illuminated headpiece in colours and gold preceded by an illuminated shamsa containing the name of the patron, khawaja Nasir ........?, place, dar al-sultanah Herat, and the date 977, shamsa surrounded by seal impressions and inscriptions of previous owners, folio 134v with and inscription written by Muhammad Taqi Qarakuzlu and dated AH1237/1569 AD, folios 136r and 137r with more seal impressions, slight waterstaining restricted to outer margins otherwise in good condition, light brown morocco with stamped central medallions and corner pieces, slightly worn 24 x 16.5 cm

The Timurnama was the work of Abdalla Hatifi, the nephew of Nur al-Din Abd al-Rahman Jami, one of the greatest Persian poets and composers of Sufi mystical works. Hatifi, like his uncle, was born near the town of Jam, a dependency of Herat in Eastern Iran, but his exact date of birth is not known. Greatly influenced by famous literary figures such as Nizami and Amir Khusraw, the Timurnama, composed along the lines of Nizamis Iskandarnama, appears to be his only completed work. Before his death in 927/1521, he is alleged to have been visited by Shah Ismaiil after his conquest of Khurasan in 917/1511. The emperor apparently asked Hatifi to compose a poem on his achievements; of this, Hatifi is said to have only completed 1000 lines (C.L. Huart & H. Masse, Hatifi, EI2).

This elegantly executed manuscript recounts the epic life and victories of one of the most famous emperors and military leaders in history, Timur Leng, or Tamerlane, from his birth near Samarqand, in modern Uzbekistan, on 6 April, 1336. Descended from the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan, from the age of 24, Timur took part in various military campaigns and his victories soon made him renowned as a highly skilled military leader. After a decade of internal political feuding he became the ruler of the Timurid Empire in 1369. For the next 35 years, until his death in 1405, Timur continued to lead a number of great expeditions and wars, using notoriously cruel military tactics to suppress his opponents; his conquests stretched as far west as Baghdad and the Black Sea, the shores of the Persian Gulf, and far into modern day Afghanistan and North West India. Before his death, Timur began military campaigns against the Ottoman ruler Bayezid I and the Mamluks in Syria, as well as leading expeditions into Armenia and Georgia. His final campaign came in the winter of 1404, but he was struck by a fever and plague, and died in February the following year. His lineage continued through the glory of the Timurid period under his direct descendants, including Babur (1483-1531), the famous founder of the Mughal Dynasty in India, which continued to rule until 1857. The illuminated heading in the present manuscript is of the greatest refinement, and the illuminated border of the shamsah on f. 1r, with lotus leaf-style scrolling, is a feature of Herati work, and can be compared to the headpiece of the Guy u Chaugan in this catalogue. For further comparisons, see E. Sachau and H. Eth, Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindstn, and Pusht manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, 1889, cols. 646-647, nos. 1006-1012.

(13356) 37

Kinali-zade Ali Chelebis Akhlaq-i Alai, or The Morals of Ali Ottoman Turkey Dated 25 Safar AH 973/21 September 1565 AD

Ottoman Turkish manuscript on buff paper, 351 folios as numbered plus 3 fly-leaves, each folio with 17lines of black nastaliq script, important words and phrases picked out in red, text between black, blue and gold rules, occasional marginal notes, opening folio with gold and polychrome illuminated headpiece surrounding a bismallah written in white thulth on gold ground, colophon dated 25 Safar 973 with panel of gold over text below, one diagram towards the end of the manuscript with nastaliq script written in a circle outlined in red, small repairs, two later stamps of the owner, in 19th century cloth covered boards with brown morocco spine and paper doublures 20 x 12.2 cm

This is an early manuscript of the most famous work of the renowned Ottoman scholar Kinali-zade Ali Chelebi (1510-1572) and an important source for the study of Ottoman culture. The opening folio of the present copy contains an elaborately and exquisitely decorated illuminated polychrome headpiece, while the bismallah, written in an exceptionally fine hand, is executed in white thulth set in a gold cartouche with floral end decorations.

The Akhlaq-i Alai The Akhlaq-i Alai is a comprehensive work discussing moral and ethical behaviour within a variety of professions and situations. Kinali-zade Ali Chelebi completed this work on 25 Safar 973/21 September 1565 when he was the qadi of Damascus and dedicated it to Ali Pasha, the beglerbegi of Syria, hence its title Akhlaq-i Alai, or The Morals of Ali. The work is divided into three parts: the problems of individual ethics and ethics in general, followed by family ethics, and ending with a discussion on state ethics and political philosophy. Within these discussions, Kinali-zade covers several topics, including, among others, treatments and cures of illnesses; good conduct in the home, the proper treatment of infants and children, acceptable behaviour while eating and drinking, and proper conduct in the presence of a sultan. One of the most important issues addressed by Kinali-zade is the education of children, where he emphasises his strong views on the role of parents in this process, using his works as a reminder to parents of their responsibilities toward the education and upbringing of their children. The work also offers a brief discussion on the Mathnavi of Jalal al-Din Rumi, as well as an account of the deeds of Alexander the Great. Kinali-zade Ali Chelebi Kinali-zade Ali Chelebi was born in Isparta in 916/1510. He taught in several prestigious madrasas in Edirne, Bursa, Kutahya and Istanbul, including the Suleymaniyye Mosque upon its completion in 966/1559, where he reached the highest rank in academia. In 970/1563 he became the qadi of Damascus, where he remained nearly four years before successive appointments to Cairo, Bursa, Edirne and Istanbul. He reached the high rank of qadi-asker of Anatolia in 1571, and in 1572, while in Edirne with Selim II, he died from an attack of gout. Kinali-zade Ali Chelebi became renowned for his supreme mastery of the Arabic language, and his ability to memorise and recite numerous hadith and poems in Arabic, Persian and Turkish. In addition to his literary genius, he was also extremely knowledgeable in the majority of scientific subjects, including mathematics, astronomy and rhetoric.

(13355) 38

Qisas al-Anbiya, The Stories of the Prophets Safavid Iran Dated AH 985/1577-78 AD

Persian manuscript on cream paper, 242 folios plus 2 fly-leaves, each folio with 17 lines of black nastaliq, important words and phrases picked out in red, catchwords, text panels outlined in gold, black and blue, first folio with gold and polychrome illuminated headpiece surrounding the title in white reserved against gold ground, preceding bifolio with two similarly illuminated shamsahs, colophon dated 985, small areas of staining, in original fine contemporary binding of gilt decorated stamped leather with elaborate inlayed doublures 29.2 x 18.3 cm

A beautifully decorated copy of one of the most famous works in Islamic literature, the Qisas al-Anbiya. The opening bifolio is exquisitely decorated with two illuminated eight-pointed shamsahs (sunbursts), executed in blue, gold, turquoise and red colours, with a black and gold outline. These colours are also commonly seen in Ottoman manuscript production, and attests to the cross-cultural interaction between artists of the Safavid and Ottoman lands. The shamsahs are followed by an equally elaborately decorated polychrome illuminated headpiece, and the calligraphy is in a well-executed nastaliq hand. The contemporary brown morocco binding is lavishly gilded and decorated with stamped floral devices, and doublures with polychrome dcoup medallion and spandrels, a technique also frequently used in Ottoman manuscript production.

The Qisas al-Anbiya incorporates tales from historical and mythological personalities from the Quranic traditions in the earlier forms, and later also from the Rabbinic and Biblical traditions. As the stories became adapted over the centuries, good and evil figures such as Harut and Marut, Dahhak and Idris were included, as well as various biblical kings and Christian figures such as Zacharias and St John the Baptist. The style and content of this literary tradition evolved into a more standardised form by the eleventh century, with the version of Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim al-Naysaburi, also known as alThalabi (d. 1035 AD). In this version, the chapters follow a chronological order in similar format to the Bible, starting with the Creation until the story of King Solomon. These are followed by various tales of notable figures mentioned in the Quran, such as Uzayr and Luqman, a number of Christian personalities, Jonah, Alexander the Great, the Seven Sleepers, St. George, Samson and the events immediately up to the birth of Muhammad. (R. Milstein, K. Rhrdanz, & B. Schmitz, Stories of the Prophet: Illustrated Manuscripts of Qisas al-Anbiya, Costa Mesa, 1980, p. 8) Provenance Numerous stamps throughout the manuscript indicate that this manuscript was once in the library of the Mufti of Prishtina, ruler of the Islamic community of Kosovo, Husayn Effendi.

(12952) 39

An illuminated anthology of poetry including the works of Navai, Khatai, and Hafiz Ottoman Turkey Mid-16th century

Ottoman Turkish and Persian manuscript on coloured paper, incomplete, 31 leaves, 8 lines to the page written horizontally and diagonally in elegant nasta'liq script in black ink, interlinear and intercolumnar rules in gold, illuminated triangular corner pieces in colours and gold, inner margins ruled in blue and gold, occasional catchwords, one illuminated headpiece in colours and gold, some areas of illumination in headpiece and corner pieces slightly retouched, later black leather binding 20.2 x 13.7 cm

This is a splendidly illuminated manuscript containing the works of some of the most famous poets in medieval Islamic literature. The elegant and superbly executed nastaliq script is of the highest possible quality, and the magnificently displayed illumination reflects the supreme standards of manuscript decoration for which the Ottoman artists are so renowned. Mir Ali-Shir Navai (1441-1501 AD), who simply went with the takhallus (pen name) of Navai, was an important cultural and political figure under the Timurid ruler Husayn Baykara (1469-1506 AD), who was also his foster brother. He was a master of Chagatay Turkish poetry, a literary phenomenon which reached its heights during the second half of the fifteenth century under sultan Husayn Baykara in Herat. Navai composed around 30 works in Chagatay Turkish, using the works of great Persian poets such as Jami, Nizami, and Amir Khusraw as his models. (M.E. Subtelny, Mir Ali Shir Nawai, EI2).

The present manuscript also includes the poetry of Khattai, the pen name of the founder of the Safavid dynasty, Shah Ismail (1487-1524 AD). Khattai was heavily influenced by the poetry of Nesimi (1360-1417 AD), an early Ottoman poet and mystic, and a follower of Fadl Allah Hurufi, founder of the Hurufiyya sect, and offshoot of Sufism. The poetry of Khattai, in addition to having great literary esteem, is also important because it reveals the nature of early Safavid Sufism. It is for this reason that his poetry became widely accepted in Alawi-Bektashi orders of Anatolia, where they were recited for centuries. (T. Gandjeie, Ismail I [Abul Muzaffar], EI2). A further poet featured in this work is the famous Shams al-Din Muhammad Shirazi Hafiz (1325-1389 AD), who is most famous for his masterful use of the ghazal, or elegy of love, in poetical literature. The ghazal consists of between 5 and 12 verses, with a single rhyme; the last verse contains the takhallus of the author. The ghazal usually revolves around the emotions of the poet concerning subjects such as love, spring, wine, or God, all of which are often connected with each other. The most famous work completed by Hafiz was the Diwan, or collection of poetry. (G.M Wickens, Hafiz, EI2).

(12956) 40

The authors copy made for presentation to Sultan Murad III

Kitab Badia al-Matala, The Dawning of Knowledge
Baghdad, Dar al-Khilafa Dated Tuesday 19 Jumadi al-Awwal AH 994/ 9 May 1586 AD

Ottoman Turkish manuscript on paper, 38 folios, 15 lines of black nastaliq script to the page, illuminated headpiece on folio 1v with floral gilt decorated margins, gold rosettes throughout text, headings in blue nastaliq script, the original binding with central gold stamped cartouches and decorated flap, repaired at the spine, excellent condition 26.5 x 17.8 cm

This is an unusual and important dated work of apology, written in a highly poetic and philosophical style of prose, from an anonymous individual asking for pardon from the sultan. The introduction lists the names of various sultans, including Murad III, Suleyman the Magnificent, Selim I, and Selim II. The superbly completed manuscript displays the high quality calligraphy for which Ottoman scribes were so renowned, and the magnificent polychrome illumination on the opening page is an additional reminder of the grandeur and masterful craftsmanship of the Ottoman tradition of illumination. The work was completed at the Dar al-Khilafa, the Abbasid palace in the imperial complex in the city of Baghdad, in 994/1585, to where the author had been exiled. It is extremely rare to find a manuscript which can be attributed to a specific location such as the Dar al-Khilafa. The author, who unfortunately remains anonymous, refers to himself in the first person throughout the manuscript, suggesting that this is in all likelihood the authors copy. The work is a lengthy apology, which was perhaps presented to the Sultan, who at the time of writing was Murad III, for the purposes of achieving forgiveness after having fallen out of favour with the royal court.

The author recounts in great detail his journey; how his ship sank, and how he was brought to shore by customs officials, who, according to him, treated him well. He relates that he had many conversations with scholars and gathered their most refined thoughts and ideas, some of which he put together in the present work. He also produced a selection of 40 hadith. At the end of this journey of awakening, he claims: at the end I dedicated myself to the science of tasawwuf (the art and science of Sufism) and every single truth of the signs became stars of the sky of my knowledge He continues to glorify himself by saying: My words are like unique pearls that were precisely formed for the royal delights.if the royal highness would like to see the bottom of the ocean of knowledge he should look at this work.for this I went deep down to the bottom of the ocean of knowledge and I opened the most precious mother of pearl and found the most magnificent pearl of meaning our Sultan could deserve. The author also provides a commentary on the poetry of Sultan Murad III, written in couplets in blue ink throughout the manuscript. Murad III was himself a great believer in the mystical ideas of Sufism, and this allegorical commentary which frequently refers to Sufi literature was most probably another attempt by the author to ingratiate himself with the Sultan by proving his mastery of Sufi knowledge, and thus to ask for forgiveness. The complex and symbolic use of language, frequently referring to words meaning sea, ship, and navy, points perhaps to the author being in exile on a ship, or that he was an officer of the sultans navy, considering the expense of producing a manuscript of such high quality. This is a fine display of the high quality calligraphy for which Ottoman scribes were renowned, beautifully preserved in the original binding. There is a luxurious polychrome decoration on the opening page which serves as a located and datable example of Baghdad illumination.

(12954) 41

Suleyman-name, The Book of Accomplishments of Sultan Suleyman

Ottoman Turkey Early 17th century

Turkish manuscript on paper, 166 folios, 15 lines of black nastaliq script to the page, occasional words and chapter headings in gold set within gold border with blue rule, opening illumination, in an extremely fine contemporary tooled and stamped red morocco binding with decorated foredges 23 x 13.7 cm

Artistic patronage by the Ottomans generally tended towards a conservative approach, unlike the royal patrons of the Safavid and Mughal Empires. Although illustrated manuscripts were commissioned by the Ottomans, these tended to be either religious in nature, or practical, such as the retelling of historical accounts of sultans and prophets. One of the most popular of these historical accounts was the Suleyman-nameh, the heroic stories of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566). The first version was composed by Arif Chelebi (d. circa 969/ 1562), the first Ottoman historian (shehnameci) to be appointed by the royal court specifically to write the history of the Ottoman dynasties. Its popularity prompted the composition of further historical works on the life of Suleyman the Magnificent by other historians, such as the author of the present work, Karacelibazde Abdulaziz Efendi (d. 1658). Many of these copies, in particular the version by Chelebi, were illustrated, but non-illustrated copies, such as the present manuscript, were also produced for the scholarly elite of society.

The elegant and decorative illuminated headpiece of this manuscript is characteristic of the finely illuminated manuscripts of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century Ottoman Empire; the light green colour of the border around the lobed section of the headpiece is particular to this style and period. The nastaliq hand reflects the finesse and regularity of the calligraphic style for which Ottoman calligraphers of this period were so renowned. Evidence that this particular copy was expensively produced, for a person of considerable wealth and high social rank, is reflected in the gul-be-sheker (sweet rose) paper with its delicate tinge of different colours, exclusively used in the production of Ottoman court manuscripts, as well as the superbly finished tooled and stamped gilt binding, also typical of high quality Ottoman craftsmanship of the style and period. Karacelebizade Abdulaziz Efendi Karacelebizade was born in Bursa in 1592 into a well-known family of Ottoman muftis (deliverer of formal legal opinions). He enjoyed a celebrated status in society while he was in a leading position in the imperial madrasa in Istanbul, and following Murad IIIs accession to the throne, he was appointed chief professor at the Suleymaniyye Madrasa. In the following years, he became qadi of Mecca, Edirne, and Istanbul successively. He preferred a scholarly life to his official work, and following the accession of Murad IV in 1648, he presented his works to the Sultan, who subsequently appointed him as shaykh ul-islam, the highest possible appointment, in 1651. His illustrious career was brought to an end when a conspiracy in the palace forced him to return to Bursa in 1652, where he commissioned many works of architecture before his death on 11 January 1658.

Provenance One of the most interesting aspects of this manuscript is its provenance. It was once in the possession of one of the most eminent and renowned Turkish historians and scholars, Halil Ethen Eldem (18611938). He was the nephew of Osman Handi Bey, an archaeologist, and founder of the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul, as well as numerous other cultural institutions in Turkey. After completing his education in Berlin and Bern, Halil Eldem returned to Istanbul in 1885, where he was appointed to various government offices as well as lecturing in a number of universities. He was one of the first pioneers of the Western style of education in Istanbul, including the introduction of scientific studies such as mineralogy, geology and chemistry. After a period of appointment as assistant curator of Chinese and European works of art in the Yildiz Palace Museum (now the renowned Topkapi Palace Museum), Halil Eldem became the director of the archaeological museum in 1910, and founded for the first time in Turkey various societies, such as the Friends of Art History and Antiquity, whose first director was the grand vizier Said Halim Pasha, the last khedive of Egypt. Halil Eldem, among whose specialist areas of study was epigraphy, was the author and co-author of a number of well-known works on history and archaeology, such as the seminal work on epigraphy Matriaux pour un Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum, which he co-authored with the famous Swiss archaeologist Max van Berchem (1863-1921), as well as numerous articles in the Journal of Ottoman History, and various works on miniature painting and ornamental arts. He became a member of the Turkish parliament in 1931, representing Istanbul, and died on 17 November, 1938, after a lifetime of public service and academic contributions. This copy of the Suleyman-name contains various notes handwritten by Halil Eldem.

(13587) 42

The authors presentation copy of the Mathnavi of Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi
Copied for Shah Abd al-Latif by the scribe Nasir al-Din Abul Hasan Husayni al-Qadiri alJilani Shahjahanabad (Delhi) Dated Thursday 2 Muharram al-Haram AH 1051/ 13 April 1641 AD

Ink, gold and colours on cream paper, 474 folios, text arranged in 17 lines in two columns of Persian in black nastaliq in central panels ruled in gold, with further text written on the bias in a surrounding panel with outer rules in orange, green, mauve and gold, with titles in white on gold, triangular thumb pieces and corner spandrels on every page decorated with floral designs in gold and colours, opening pages with magnificent illuminated headpieces to central and side panels, the latter with floral designs in gold but no text, five further exquisitely illuminated headpieces. Rebound but with original covers with stamped gold tooling in inlaid panels 24.8 x 16.8 cm

The great Sufi mystical poet Rumi (120773 AD) was born in Balkh (in present-day Afghanistan) and died in Konya (in present-day Turkey). His writings are mostly in Persian even though he lived most of his life in Konya in the Seljuk Turkish sultanate as a Sufi teacher. His name Rumi is a descriptive term meaning the Roman since where he lived in Anatolia was thought of as Rum or Rome throughout the east long after the end of the Byzantine Empire. After Rumis death, his followers founded the Mevlevi Order, better known as the Whirling Dervishes, who believe in performing their worship in the form of dance and music ceremony called the sema. Rumis major work is Mathnavi-i Manavi (Spiritual Couplets), a six-volume poem regarded as one of the greatest works of mystical poetry, and called by his successor mystical poet Jami the Koran of the Persian language. It was begun around 1260 at the request of Husam al-Din Chalabi and Rumi spent the rest of his life completing it. It consists of a prelude in Arabic or Persian for each volume, in the first of which the author calls his work the principles of the principles of the principles of religion. In nearly twenty-six thousand verses of poetry, Rumi unravels in the Mathnavi the vast ocean of the world of the spirit and man's journey to and through that world. Drawing from sacred history, simple tales, earlier Sufi writings, learned discourses of predecessors, lives of saints and many other sources, Rumi discusses nearly every aspect of Islamic metaphysics, cosmology and traditional psychology. The patron of this copy is described by the scribe with the most extravagant encomiums the one with exalted rank, the purest for guidance, and the refuge for safety and the best of the vigilant sagacious ones, the true qiblah and the certain Kaba, the noble soul The patron is very probably the Mullah Abdul Latif ibn Abdallah al-Abbasi of Gujarat, the author of the commentaries Lataif-al Manavi and Lataif al-Lughat that appear here on the difficult passages in the Mathnavi. This is then the authors own copy and suitably magnificent. Mullah Abdul Latif ibn Abdallah al-Abbasi was also Divan of Kabul under Jahangir and Subahdar under Shah Jahan, but who died in 1640. He had the most exquisite taste in manuscript production. Compared with their Persian counterparts, relatively few illuminated manuscripts of the highest quality have survived from seventeenth-century Mughal India, and this one is remarkable not only for its quality but for being one of the earliest documents to have been produced in Shah Jahans new capital of Shahjahanabad. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1628-58) had decided in 1638 to move his capital back to Delhi, the old centre of Muslim power in India, and his new city was laid out north of the old Sultanate capitals from 1639-48, including a massive new fort and palace along the river Jumna. Relatively little has been written on manuscript illumination in India. For a general discussion see Losty 1982, passim, and for illumination in the Mughal studio in the first half of the seventeenth century see Losty 1985, and Swietochowskis contributions to Welch et al 1987. Provenance Various nineteenth century ownership notes and seals on the flyleaf Literature J. Losty, The Art of the Book in India, London, 1982 J. Losty, Indian Paintings in the British Library, London, 1985 S. Welch, Indian Book Painting, London, 1987

(8552003) 43

A Galenic Account of Pharmacology, especially Antidotes North Africa Circa 17th century
Arabic manuscript on paper, 117 folios, approximately 21 lines per page of elegant maghribi script in black ink, headings larger, in blue and red ink, occasional marginalia, catchwords; one diagram; incomplete at beginning, but otherwise in very good condition. Modern brown morocco binding with flap. 29 x 19 cm

Few medical manuscripts from North Africa are extant and this is an unusual example. It begins with a preface summarising work on antidotes by Greeks, Assyrians and Romans, influenced by the celebrated medical translator Hunayn Ibn Ishaq. Ibn Ishaq was a student of Ibn Masawayh, the most famous medical figure in Baghdad in the eighth century. An Arab Christian, he lived in Baghdad in the early decades of the ninth century. As Seyyed Hosain Nasr comments, with his mastery of Arabic, Greek and Syriac, he is more than anyone responsible for the high quality of translation of the work of the Greek masters of medicine, especially Hippocrates and Galen (Jalinus), into Arabic. This section ends at f. 11v and there begins an account of al-tiryaq, compounds made up against poisons of every variety, a corruption of the Greek word theriake, an animal that bites or snaps (Hunayns translation). Since these antidotes were used against animal bites the word eventually was applied to all antidotes, especially when snake flesh was incorporated. The originator of the theriac was the Greek sage Magnus. It was then perfected by Andromachus in the first century AD. In the second century AD, it was revised by Galen who made known its action and effectiveness and the manner in which it should be used.

The second work in this manuscript is drawn largely from Galen. As far as compound drugs are concerned, they were usually treated in Islamic sources in the catalogue or listing of drugs which came to be known in Islamic languages as aqrabadhin. In this field the influence of Galen was particularly strong. (Nasr, Islamic Science, World of Islam Festival, 1976, p. 189). The work ends with a discussion drawn from Dioscorides of the unsal which is a type of wild onion. No author or title has survived; an inscription on f.1r in a later hand mentions the title al-Dukkan and the name al-Qurtubi, a person from Cordoba; if this is the author, the text must predate the Reconquista in the thirteenth century. Efforts to trace this writer have so far proved unsuccessful. The diagram on f. 18v is of an intriguing contraption designed to prevent snake bites from proving fatal.

(4206) 44

Majma al-Ansab (Genealogy of the Prophet) Ottoman Empire Circa 1660 Numerous genealogical tables

Arabic and Turkish manuscript on paper, 58 folios with the names written in black naskh within orange, green, blue and grey circles, linked by red lines, pages of explanatory text front and back, in brown morocco binding with flap. 25 x 17 cm

This elegant manuscript is a tabular work delineating the genealogy of the Ottoman Sultans, from Adam, the first human being and prophet, to Sultan Mahmud I (r. 1730-1754). Genealogies, or the representations of kinship and narratives of origin, were powerful objects of political ideology among Islamic dynasties, as they represented a tool to demonstrate political legitimacy and piety through lineage, which was usually traced back to figures of religious or authoritative importance. Legitimacy in Ottoman rule employed a combination of Persian royal traditions, divine authority and the long succession of Islamic dynasties that had previously held power in the central Islamic lands. After a lengthy introduction containing invocations and blessings to Allah, the Prophet Muhammad and his life, a list of some of the contents of the work and a recitation of selected important Biblical events, the manuscript begins with a list of Ottoman viziers in Cairo, their dates and marginal notes detailing some of their major achievements. The work continues with a series of lineage diagrams beginning with Adam, followed by the Persian kings interspersed with numerous Biblical (and other) prophets, Jesus, and the Prophet Muhammad, who is represented in a large diagram in the middle circle, surrounded by two larger concentric circles in green and orange containing the names of his followers and family members. The larger circles are illuminated by a series of surrounding flames to emphasise the divine attributes of the Prophet and his followers.

The genealogy proceeds after Muhammad with the lineage of religio-political figures from early Islamic times, beginning with the first orthodox caliph, Abu Bakr, followed by rulers belonging to major dynasties, such as the Seljuqs, the Ayyubids, the Ilkhanids, and the Mamluks. The Ottoman line of sultans begins with Sultan Ertughrul (d. 1281 AD), the father of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, Osman I (r. 1299-1326 AD), and ending with Mahmud I after an extensive list of members of the Ottoman ruling house. Also included are the genealogies of Qadirite Sufis. There are three final added dates on the last page of the genealogical section: 1115/ 1703, the beginning of the reign of Sultan Ahmed III; 1127/ 1715, marking the Ottomans conquests during the Ottoman-Venetian war (17141718), and 1143/ 1730, the ascension of Sultan Mahmud I to the Ottoman throne. The format for this type of genealogy comes from the Persian tradition of ancestral genealogy, which was first translated into Turkish in the sixteenth century. Different coloured circles of various sizes contain the names of the patriarchs, prophets, and kings, linked by lines marking their relationship. The names of the more important individuals, such as the prophets, are written in red ink, within two or three concentric circles, depending on their ancestral importance. Genealogies of Ottoman sultans using a vertical format were more popular, but a horizontal format showing the descent from a common ancestor, as displayed in the present example, were sometimes employed to emphasise the direct relationships between groups of people.

(9421) 45

An Essay on the Art and Artists of the Court of Ibrahim II in Bijapur

Zuhuris Khwan-i Khalil, Table of the Friend of God Deccan, probably Bijapur Dated AH 1080/ 1669-70 AD

Persian manuscript on alternating yellow, mauve, cream and salmon paper, twenty-six folios. Ten lines of black nastaliq ink written diagonally across the page, each line enclosed in cloud cartouche against a gold ground, margins ruled in gold. Dated 1080 AH (166970 AD) on final folio (f. 26r) with erased seal impression. Contemporary light brown morocco binding with stamped central medallions of leather inlay decorated with red and gold flowering plants. 18 x 10 cm

Zuhuris Khwan-i Khalil, or Table of the Friend of God, constitutes the most revealing insight into life at the court of the greatest patron of the arts in the Deccan, and one of the few Islamic sources dealing with the life and work of artists. Under Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1579-1621), the Deccani kingdom of Bijapur witnessed an extraordinary efflorescence in the arts, thanks in great part to the creative temperament of Ibrahim himself. Like his contemporary, the Mughal Emperor Akbar, Ibrahim was a religiously tolerant ruler with mystic inclinations and a strong interest in Hindu culture. The eclecticism of his tastes reflected the cosmopolitan nature of his court and Deccani society at large, in which Iranian, Turkish, Mughal and local traditions fused to produce some astonishingly vibrant results, particularly in the field of painting.

(For the court, tastes and achievements of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, see M. Zebrowski, Deccani Painting, London, 1983, pp. 67-121.) An important role in the cultural life of the period must be assigned to the waves of Iranian artists and writers that emigrated to the wealthy courts of the Deccan in search of new sources of patronage. The poet Zuhuri himself was one such migr. Born in Turshiz in Khurasan, he left Iran for the Deccan in 1580, following disappointment at his failure to establish himself at the court of Shah Abbas. Following a period of residency at the court of Shah Burhan Nizam at Ahmadnagar, for whom he composed a mathnavi dealing with kingship, mysticism and music the Saqi-nama, or The Book of the Cup-Bearer he succeeded in attracting the attention of Ibrahim II. For this ruler Zuhuri composed his Se Nathr, or Three Essays, all relating to Ibrahim, his court, and the arts practised there. The Khwan-i Khalil is the last of these essays, and in addition to praising Ibrahim and his skill as a musician, calligrapher, painter and patron Zuhuri eulogizes the six outstanding members of his court. These were the vazir and mathematician Shah Nawaz Khan, the poet Malik Qummi, the calligrapher Shah Khalilullah, the painter Farrukh Hussain, the wit Malik Khuddam Mullah Haidar al-Zuhri and, finally, the author himself. (For the life and works of Zuhuri, see Zebrowksi, pp. 68-70.) The title of the work serves to identify Ibrahim II with his namesake, the Prophet Abraham, who was also frequently called Khalil, meaning friend of God. In this way the reference to the khwan, or table, in the title refers both to Abrahams position as an intimate of God and to the luminaries assembled at the court of Ibrahim II. This is in keeping with the title of the second essay, the Gulzar-i Ibrahim, or Rose Garden of Ibrahim, which alludes simultaneously to the garden Abraham created out of Nimrods fire and Ibrahims stellar court. In keeping with the content that exalts the arts and artistic patronage as royal and almost religious virtues, the manuscript has a jewel-like quality and was clearly meant to be an object of aesthetic value in itself. The most striking aesthetic considerations are the folios of different colours yellow, lilac, cream and salmon and the arrangement of the text in cloud-shaped cartouches running diagonally across the page. The cloud cartouches separating the lines are frequently joined, either in the middle of the line or along the left margin, leading the eye down the page and imparting a sense of fluidity to the text. The ground of the entire text block has been illuminated with gold, which has the effect of making the text appear to float on the surface of the page. The flowering plants in the centre of the covers, made from red and gold leather inlay, relate to contemporary enamel and enhance the manuscripts status as a luxury, physical object.

(12762) 46

Dedicated to Sultan Mahmud I

A Royal Calendar (Taqwim-i Sal) Istanbul Dated 21 Dhul Hijja AH 1152/ 20 March 1740 AD

Ottoman manuscript on paper, 9 folios, opening illuminated shamsah pasted down on inside doublure, 20 lines of fine naskh script in red, gold and black ink per page, various tables, contemporary brown morocco binding with gild stamped central decoration, illuminated shamsah on the front inside doublure, 18th century drawing of a lion devouring a gazelle on the back inside doublure, excellent condition 23.5 x 15.5 cm

This luxuriously produced book is a one-year calendar and almanac dedicated to Sultan Mahmud I. It was produced for a member of the Ottoman royal family. One-year calendars are of great rarity due to their ephemeral nature; unlike perpetual calendars, these were usually discarded after a year as they were no longer needed. The calendar was part of a waqf endowed by Sultan Mahmud I (r. 1730-1754) and his mother, the Valide Sultan (Saliha Sultan) according to undated registry entries on the first and the last folio. As the entries refer to both the sultan and his mother as marhum (deceased) they would have been added after their deaths. The royal attribution of this manuscript, and particularly its administration by the waqf authority in charge of the Holy Sites in Mecca and Medina, explains the beautifully rendered calligraphy and illumination, and the care with which this work was executed, as well as the reason for its survival beyond its one-year use. The fact that its purpose was so short-lived is also the reason why it is not signed.

The present manuscript is an almanac for 1740/41 AD, starting with Nawruz 9 (20th March 1740 Julian/Gregorian calendar). Nawruz, i.e. the date of vernal equinox, is defined by equivalent dates in several Middle Eastern calendars (Yezdegerd, Jalali, Coptic, Seleucid, Hijra). Two rhomboid grids with horoscopes (zayie) valid for 1740/41 AD are added: Year of the Turks (Sal-i Turkan):Year of the Monkey according to the traditional Turkic animal calendar (similar to the Chinese calendar) The ascendant of the year on the horizon of Istanbul with planets and other heavenly bodies together with the zodiac signs where they were domiciled just before Nauruz. Each page in this manuscript represents one month of the calendar year, and contains a large number of planetary aspects that are very important in astrology as well as other chronological and religious dates for prayers, week days and particular dates that may be considered auspicious, or that have superstitious connotations. In addition, a section entitled ikhtiyarat contains advice and what activities to engage in and which to avoid, which is a feature also seen in almanacs produced in the western world.

(12576) 47

Al-Jazulis Dalail al-Khayrat, Blessings on the Prophet Copied by Abdullah Ibn Mehmet Emin Katibzade Ottoman Empire 26 Shawwal AH 1167/ 16 August 1754 AD

Arabic and Ottoman manuscript on paper, 128 folios, 9 lines of Arabic in black naskh script to the page, margins ruled in gold, verses marked with gold rosettes pointed in blue, orange and white, 10 illuminated headpieces, 6 illuminated end pages, double page illustration of holy sites, in a fine contemporary leather binding with gold stamped tooled central medallion and corner pieces 18.5 x 12.8 cm

This luxurious copy of the Islamic worlds most popular pilgrimage guide is a showcase for the Ottoman eighteenth century rococo style of illumination. The highlight of the illumination is a double page representation of the minbar and the cenotaphs of Abu Bakr, Umar and Muhammad in the mosque of Medina. These have been executed with lavish amounts of gold and silver, and employ the same decorative devices, such as pink and orange floral scroll, and strap work of pricked gold, as the numerous illuminated headpieces in the manuscript. The palette of gold, pink, deep blue and turquoise is typical for the luxurious tastes of the period. The text of the manuscript has been copied in clear and highly elegant naskh script. A colophon records the name of the calligrapher as Abdalla Ibn Mehmed Emin Katibzade, who is stated to have been a pupil of Ismail Effendi Yesarizade. Ismail Effendi was a famous scribe and chancery secretary (katib) in the city of Edirne, which was the residence of the fashionable and extravagant court of the Ottoman sultan Ahmed III in the so-called Tulip Period (1112/ 1700-1143/ 1730). His father was a court judge, a position which Ismail Effendi was appointed to after his death. He studied the art of thulth and naskh calligraphy under the supervision of Haffafazadeh Huseyn Effendi and received his

diploma in calligraphy in 1726. Ismail Effendi was well known as a calligraphic authority on Dalail alKhayrat manuscripts (Sevket Rado, Turk Hattatlari, Istanbul, p. 167), of which he produced more than 200 in number, as well as completing 18 Qurans and 30 anam, before passing away in 1765 on his way to Mecca. The colophon of the present manuscript states that Abdullah Katibzade copied the work on behalf of his uncle al-Hajj Mustafa Agha Ibn al-Hajj Abdullah Agha. The designation of the uncle as al-Hajj, the Pilgrim indicates that the work was probably presented to Abdullah Agha to mark his pilgrimage to Mecca. Al-Jazulis (d. circa 870/ 1465) Dalail al-Khayrat consists of prayers in honour of the Prophet Muhammad and descriptions of sites in Mecca and Medina, for which reason it came to be used as a hajj guide or souvenir by pilgrims from all over the Islamic world. At the very end of the manuscript, following a portrait of the author in Ottoman Turkish, there are notes by a certain Mustafa al-Saani (?) of Edirne detailing his mystical affiliations, and how Abdullah Agha asked him for instruction in the reading of the Dalail al-Khayrat. An additional notable feature of this manuscript is the marbled paper doublures with floral motifs, which can be attributed to the paper maker Mehmet Effendi (d. 1773). Mehmet Effendi was the khatib (the religious official who delivers Friday sermons) of the Ayasofya Mosque in Istanbul. Although skilled in thuluth and naskh calligraphy, which he studied under the master calligrapher Ismail Zuhdi (d. 1144/1731), he is most famous for developing this unique type of marbled paper, which eventually was named after him as hatib ebrusu. Mehmet Effendi met an unfortunate end in 1187/1773, when his house burned to the ground. All his marbled papers were destroyed, making the examples seen in the present manuscript quite rare.

(12981) 48

A large scale manuscript with additional drawings

Al-Tashrih bi-l-Tasvir or Tashrih-i Mansuri (Anatomy with Illustrations) By Mansur Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Yusuf Ibn Faqir Ilyas India Dated AH 1212/ 1797 AD, during the 37th regnal year of Shah Alam II (1759-1788 and 17881806) 10 full page anatomical drawings

Persian manuscript on paper, 81 leaves, 17 lines to the page written in nastaliq script in black ink, catchwords, headings and significant words picked out or underlined in red throughout, illustrations drawn in ink with some colour, binding in light blue boards with red leather corner and spine trimmings 27 x 19.1 cm

This is a copiously illustrated copy of a medical treatise first composed in 1396 AD by Mansur Ibn Faqir Ilyas, who dedicated this work to Timurs grandson Pir Muhammad ibn Umar Shaykh, the ruler of Fars (1394-1409 AD). It was the first medical treatise in the Islamic world to show the anatomy of the whole human body; illustrations in previous works had usually been limited to specific aspects of human anatomy, such as the eyes and the teeth. The earliest known dated copies of the Tashrih-i Mansuri date to the fifteenth century. The text is divided into six parts which discuss various aspects of the human anatomy: bones, nerves, muscles, veins, arteries and the organs such as the heart, brain and eyes. The treatise also includes a chapter on the development of the embryo. Ibn Ilyas work is based on the medical discoveries expounded in the works of classical physicians such as Galens De anatomicis administrationibus and the De materia medica by Dioscorides.

Mansur ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad Yusuf ibn Ilyas was a recognized physician from Shiraz during the late fourteenth century. He came from a family of practicing physicians, and composed two major works on medicine during his lifetime: Kifayah-i Mujahidiya (The Sufficient Book for Mujahid), a general medical encyclopaedia, and his most famous work, the Tashrih-i badan-i insan (The Book of Human Anatomy), also known as Tashrih-i Mansuri (Mansurs Anatomy). He dedicated both works to the rulers of the Persian province of Fars. This copy of Ibn Ilyas work is unusual, as it includes two additional drawings depicting treatments using blood-letting and cupping points; the majority of copies of the Tashrih-i Mansuri contain only the original anatomical drawings of the skeleton, veins, nerves, muscles, and the pregnant woman. The illustrations include: f. 14r The skeleton, drawn in black and yellow ink, viewed from behind with the face pointing upward, with explanatory comments and notes in Persian f. 15r The skeleton, drawn in black and red ink, viewed from the front, head facing forward f. 20r The nerves, viewed from the back with face pointing upward, nerve groups indicated by different coloured ink in green, blue, black, red and yellow, including their relationship to the spinal column (indicated by numbers on each lumbar disc) f. 20v The nerves of the head, in detail f. 23r The muscles, drawn in red ink, viewed from the front, with copious explanatory notes f. 28r The venous system, including the alimentary system showing the liver, kidneys and intestinal tract, drawn in red, brown, black, yellow and green ink, fluid expulsion from the liver, kidneys and intestines indicated in green (?), and names of each f. 31r The arteries, including the alimentary system, drawn in red, black, brown, yellow and green, with explanatory notes f. 44r Pregnant woman with foetus in squatting position, including blood vessels, heart, liver and kidneys, drawn in red, black, yellow and brown ink f. 63r Male figure, showing points for bleeding or blood-letting, drawn in red, black and grey ink f. 70r Male figure, showing points for cupping, drawn in red, black and grey ink, with explanatory notes For other copies of the Tashrih-i Mansuri, see E. Savage-Smith, Science, Tools & Magic, Part One, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, Oxford, 1997, cat. no. 2, pp. 21; C. Black (ed.), The Transformation of Knowledge: Early Manuscripts from the Collection of Laurence J. Schoenberg, London, 2006, cat. no. 15, pp. 85-87; the University of Edinburgh Library, ms OR.MS416; the Wellcome Library, London, no. 582968i; The National Library of Medicine, Maryland, NLM MS P18. Literature E. Savage-Smith, Tashrih, EI2 M. Ullmann, Islamic Medicine, Edinburgh, 1978, pp. 70-71 D. Brandenburg, Islamic Miniature Painting in Medical Manuscripts. Basle, Switzerland: Editiones Roche, 1982, pp. 30-39, 210-215 S. H. Nasr, Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study, London, 1976, pp. 162-4, figs. 77-78, 11-103

(13418) 49

Al-Jazulis Dalail al-Khayrat, Blessings on the Prophet Ethiopia, probably Harrar Dated AH 1345/ 1920 AD Commissioned by Muhammad Ibn Shaykh and his uncle Several illustrations

Arabic manuscript on paper, 147 folios with 12 lines of naskh script in red, purple and black ink, contemporary leather binding, some repair, good condition 24.5 x 19 cm

This is a well-illustrated and very unusual copy of the Dalail al-Khayrat by Muhammad Ibn Sulayman alJazuli (d. 1465), the most widely read work after the Quran in the Islamic world. Copied in a distinctive East African derivative of the naskh script, it provides an extended introduction, including the 101 names of Allah and the 201 names of the Prophet Muhammad, all contained within large circles on a black and pale red background. The introduction concludes with an illustration of the tombs of the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar at Medina. Included are also prayers for each of the seven days of the week. The black and pale red geometric patterns decorating the background of the names of Allah and the Prophet, and the border of the illustration of the tombs, are typical of manuscript artistry in this region of Africa. Harrar is considered the pre-eminent centre of Islam in Ethiopia, and was the capital of an independent emirate from the middle of the 18th century. Al-Jazulis Dalail al-Khayrat consists of prayers in honour of the Prophet Muhammad and descriptions of sites in Mecca and Medina, for which reason it came to be used as a hajj guide by pilgrims from all over the Islamic world.

The colophon reads: This book was decorated by the hand of the humble, the hopeful, the insignificant Muhammad Ibn alShaykh Siraj for his shaykh and uncle Shaykh Muhammad Ibn al-Shaykh Muhammad Sadiq in the year 1345. Manuscripts of any date so elaborately made survive in very small numbers from Harrar. References to commissions for family members are also very rarely found in colophons.

(8087) 50

A printed amulet scroll (tarsh) Fatimid Egypt 11th-12th century

Woodblock printed Arabic on paper, with bismallah and blessing to regain sight for the blind 10.5 x 3.5 cm

This is a very early example of Islamic printing in the form of an amulet scroll (tarsh). Usually made of long, narrow strips of paper, and occasionally including prints from several different blocks, tarsh were produced for talismanic or protective purposes, often including prayers and verses from the Quran. The present example contains a blessing to restore sight to the blind or partially sighted owner. Complete tarsh are a rarity, and the beaded design along the top and the bottom suggests that this is an almost complete example, with just a small part of the right section missing. Tarsh are a testimony to the remarkable technical advances of Fatimid Egypt. References to Islamic block-printing appear first in the tenth century- five hundred years before their invention in Europeand from the start are exclusively connected to the practice of making amulets (see R. W. Bulliet The Medieval Arabic Tarsh: A forgotten chapter in the history of printing in Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 107, 1987, pp. 427-38). Printing blocks were normally made of wood, but references found in poems of the fourteenth-century suggest that some of the moulds may have been made from tin, using molten metal poured on inscribed clay moulds to produce plates with engraved or repouss lettering (c.f. Bulliet, 433-5). Papermaking and block-printing are recognised as having been greatly influenced by Chinese technology, although the use of tin plates appears not to have been a tradition in the Far East, indicating perhaps that the use of metal printing plates was unique to the Islamic printing tradition. Due to the popularity of devotional texts such as extracts from the Quran and religious incantations, tarsh were produced en masse to serve the demand of the medieval Islamic population, with patrons being the wealthy as well as the poor of society. The small, compact size of these printed texts suggests that they would have been rolled up and enclosed inside a small container that could be easily transported on the person. Today, a relatively small number of tarsh remain extant; approximately 60 examples are located in European and American museums and libraries.

(6818) 51

The Boughton Rouse Collection A Library of Manuscripts collected by an English Scholar in India in the 18th century 72 manuscripts and several hundred documents

The library comprises seventy-two bound manuscripts and several hundred documents and letters. Boughton Rouses interests were wide but probably the most significant part of the Library is the section on History. Included are most of the major works recording the Moghul Empire, all well known but rare in manuscripts, together with texts on Hindu and Sultanate states, and the Ottoman and Persian empires. There are court memoirs, the celebrated letters of Abul Fazl and the great autobiography of the Emperor Jahangir. There are court memoirs, the celebrated letters of Abul Fazl and the great autobiography of the Emperor Jahangir. There are contemporary eyewitness accounts of the great event of the 18th century possibly commissioned by Boughton. There is an exemplary collection of poetry with classic texts by Rumi and Sadi together with Bidpais fables. There is a magnificently written and decorated Shahname from Iran dated 1591. There are a number of classic texts of Islam but of greater interest are the texts on other religions. The Emperor Akbars extraordinary enthusiasm for studying and promoting other religions is well documented and was obviously of particular interest to Boughton. There are examples of the translations of Christian texts commissioned by the emperor together with Abul Fazls Bhagvad Gita and Prince Dara Shikohs Upanishads. There are important texts on science, lexicography and philosophy. Three of Boughton Rouses notebooks show him learning to translate principally from letters and collections of anecdotes.

The collection of documents is a still largely unexplored archive. There are more items on language and religions including remarkable notes on the Kingdom of Bhutan. Among other papers there is a study of Persian manuscript illumination and a collection of unused decorated writing papers. There is a group of royal letters from Shah Alam. Some of these are in the neat formal hands of scribes, but some are in an amateur hand which may be written by the Emperor himself. Many of the letters are transcribed, translated and in some cases published. It is extremely unusual to find a manuscript Library from the earliest period of scholarship still largely intact from the eighteenth century. Four items were given to the British Library by the family in the nineteenth century but the Boughton Library as a whole seems never to have been studied. Many of the texts are in unusual recensions and others are early manuscripts better than those used for the standard editions. There are completely unrecorded texts and others in the hands of the author. The library was largely assembled in India between the 1760s and 1780s. The date of acquisition is always recorded together with notes on the collector from whom they were acquired (Gentil, Middleton and others), and on their loan to scholars like Ouseley or White. Most have full notes by Boughton Rouse on their text and all bear the impression of his large seal.

Sir Charles William Boughton Rouse Sir Charles William Boughton Rouse (1747-1821) was in the forefront of Oriental Studies before that discipline properly existed. He was an exceptional scholar of Persian language and the history of India. Boughton Rouse arrived in India in 1765, employed by the East India Company in Bengal. His promotion was swift. In 1766 he became Assistant to the Select Committee; in 1768 he was given special responsibility as an interpreter. By 1773 he was a Junior Merchant and by 1776 he was Senior Merchant and Chief at Dacca. References to him in the Company correspondence show that his command of Persian was highly valued. Concerning some revenue accounts from Raja Sitabray in Bihar, the Company wrote: The papers of the Bihar collections given in by [Raja Sitabray] are voluminous and intricate but as we have put them into the hands of Mr Rouse, an able servant of the Company and well skilled in the Persian language, we hope soon to see them unravelled (10 December 1772). Again, with reference to another matter, we read that We direct that you avail yourselves of the abilities of Mr Rouse and particularly of his great knowledge in the Persian language (3 March 1775). Boughton Rouse resigned from Company service in 1778, on the grounds that the situation of his affairs in England requires his presence there. The official recorder of Company staff noted no further trace of him; in fact, he became a Member of Parliament, losing his seat in the 1790 election. In 1781 he was Chairman of the Select Committee on Indian Affairs; he became Secretary of Commissioners for Indian Affairs in 1784. (See C.H.Philips, The East India Company, 1784-1834, Manchester University Press 1940.) He clearly had a particular interest in land legislation, evident here in documents 54-8, which resulted in a publication in 1791: Dissertation concerning the landed property of Bengal, printed by A. Upjohn in Calcutta. Here, he set out to give a historical analysis of land tenure in India, as he put it, not by quoting the speculative opinions given at any time by British subjects in the course of official duty, but rather by bringing the historical records of India and Europe into one connected argument, which might be deduced principally from a careful examination of documents already before the public, or in my own possession, and usefully illustrated by analogies drawn from other governments.

Generic profile of the Boughton Rouse manuscript library History (23 mss) 1. History of Timur 2. History of Akbar 6. History of Firuzshah and kings of Delhi 16. History of Akbar 18. History of Gujarat 21. History of India 22. History of Islamic Dynasties in India 24. History of Iran 25. Aurangzebs regulations 26. Anecdotes of famous men 30. Abul-Fazls letters 31. history of Hindus 35. History of Nadir Shah 38. History of Nadir Shah 45. History of India by al-Husaini 47. History to 1541 51. Jahangirnama 55. Biographies of Sufis 58. Institutes of Timur 61. Alamgirnama 62. Qalat Gwaliar 64. Tarikh-i Hindustan 66. Correspondence of Abul-Fadhl Poetry (15 mss) 4. Anthology of Rumi 5. Sadi Divan 10. Hafiz Divan illustrated 17. Shahnama 23. Rumi poems 33. Hakim Sanai poetry 34. Commentary on Sadi 37. Biographies of poets 41. Kalilah wa Dimnah 42. Divan of Rumi 44. Divan of Isfahani 48. Divan of Urfi 52. Sadi Bustan 59. Sadi Bustan 67. Sadi Gulistan

Religion (8 mss) 13. History and Topography of Medina 15. Biography of Prophet and Followers 19. Praise of Ali 27. Hadith 29. Prayers 32. Qur`an 39. Discourses on Prophets 57. Khaqanis Hajj

Lexicography/Science/Philosophy (11 mss) 7. Dictionary/Sufi terminology 8. Abridged Dictionary 9. Dictionary 14. Magic, astrology, occult etc. 28. Ethics/Philosophy 36. Metallurgy, jewellery, perfumes etc 40. Anthology of Scientific Treatises 46. Baghistan anthology 49. Jahangirs Dictionary 60. Dictionary 69. Genealogy

Christian (3 mss) 11. Life of Christ 12. Gospels in Persian 20. Life of Christ Translations (6 mss) 3. Dara Shikohs Upanishads 43. Abul Fazls Bhagvad Gita 53. Nul Dummum from Sanskrit 54. Bahar-i Danesh, collection of tales 56. Tutinama from the Sanskrit 68. Mahabarata Letters and language (5 mss) 50. Anthology of anecdotes 63. Treatise on letter-writing 70. Grammar 71. Grammar 72. Grammar Document & Letters 1-18 19-37 38-53 54-58 59-62 63-65 66-72 73-78 Royal letters Languages and scholarship History Land Law Business Transcribed letters Personal letters